PHI 


JESSfiCA  1PEIXOTTO 
1941 


JOHNNY'S  REVENGE. 

Page  1G3. 


DOTTY   DIMPLE    STORIES. 


DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 


BY    SOPHIE    MAY,         ji^ 

AUTHOR  OF  "  LITTLE  PRUDY  STORIES." 


BOSTON: 
,  E  E     A.ND      S  H  E 

1870. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

LEE  AND  SHEPARD, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


NO.   19   SPP.SNO   LANE. 


o  / 


FLORENCE    BICKNELL. 


DOTTY  DIMPLE  STORIES. 

To  be  completed  in  six  vols.     Handsomely  Illustrated. 
Each  vol.,  75  cts. 

1.  DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HER  GRANDMOTHER'S. 

2.  DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

3.  DOTTY  DIMPLE  OUT  WEST. 

4.  DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  PLAY. 

5.  DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  SCHOOL. 

6.  DOTTY  DIMPLE'S  FLYAWAY. 


BOOKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 

LITTLE  PRUDY  STORIES. 

Now  complete.   Six  vols.  24mo.   Handsomely  Illustrated, 
In  a  neat  box.    Per  vol.,  75  cts.    Comprising 

LITTLE  PRUDY. 

LITTLE  PRUDY' S  SISTER  SUSIE. 
LITTLE  PRUDY' S  CAPTAIN  HORACE. 
LITTLE  PRUDY' S  COUSIN  GRACE. 
LITTLE  PRUDY' S  STORY  BOOK. 
LITTLE  PRUDY'S  DOTTY  DIMPLE. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  LION  AND  THE  LAMB.  .    .   .  .   7 

II.  A  SAD  STORY.    .  25 

III.  FIRE.  .    .       .   .   .    .  .   40 

IV.  PLAYING  HINDOO 54 

V.  KUNNING  WILD.    ......      68 

VI.  HOW   IT   ENDED.             .            .            .            .            .  82 

VII.  TELLING  or  IT.    .        .        ...        .  .98 

VIII.  MAMMA  AND  "LITTLE  ME."    ...  112 

IX.  THE  NEW  HOME.          .        .        .  .125 

X.  A  SURPRISE 140 

XI.  JOHNNY'S  KEVENGE.      .        .   :.    .        .  .    155 

(5) 


DOTTY    DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 


CHAPTEE    I. 

THE   LION   AND   THE   LAMB. 

DOTTY  DIMPLE,  after  a  night  of  pleasan^ 
sleep,  greeted  herself  in  the  morning  with 
a  groan.  It  was  as  if  she  had  said,  — 

"O,  dear!  you  here  again,  Dotty?  Why 
didn't  you  sleep  longer?" 

Prudy  noticed  the  cloud  on  her  sister's 
face  in  a  moment  ;  she  saw  she  had  w  waked 
up  wrong." 

Now  I  have  never  told  you  how  pecu^ 
liarly  trying  it  was  to  live  with  Dotty 
Dimple.  She  seemed  to  have,  at  th^ 
same  time,  the  nature  of  a  lioii  and  a 


8  A  :  :  ::  tEqT?^:  SIMPLE  'A?  HOME. 


lamb.  When  the  lion  raged,  then  her 
eyes  blazed,  and  she  looked  as  if  she  be 
longed  in  a  menagerie;  but  when  noth 
ing  occurred  to  rouse  her  wild  temper, 
she  was  as  gentle  and  tender  as  a  little 
lamb  frisking  by  its  mother's  side  on  a 
summer's  day. 

Indeed,  if  I  were  to  describe  the  loveli 
ness  of  her  manners,  and  the  sweetness  of 
h^r  face,  I  ought  to  dip  my  pen  in  liquid 
sunshine;  whereas,  the  blackest  of  ink 
would  not  be  at  all  too  dark  to  draw 
her  picture  when  she  was  out  of  temper. 

In  her  earliest  childhood  it  had  been 
worse  than  it  was  now.  Then  she  had 
not  tried  in  the  least  to  control  herself, 
and  the  lion  had  had  his  own  way.  After 
one  of  her  wild  outbursts,  she  would  follow 
her  mother  about  the  house,  saying,  in  a 
soft,  pleading  voice,  — 


THE   LION  AND   THE   LAMB.  9 

"Say,  mamma,  is  I  your  little  comfort?" 

Before  answering  Dotty,  the  poor  mother 
had  to  call  to  mind  all  the  good  things 
the  child  had  ever  said  or  done,  and  fancy 
how  dreadful  it  would  be  to  lose  her.  Then 
she  would  reply,  — 

"Yes,  Dotty,  you  are  mamma's  dear  little 
girl ;  but  mamma  doesn't  like  your  naughty, 
naughty  ways." 

This  failed  to  satisfy  Miss  Dimple. 
She  would  cry  out  again,  in  heart-broken 
tones,  — 

"Is  I  your  little  comfort,  mamma?  Is  I? 

So,  sooner  or  later,  Mrs.  Parlin  was 
obliged,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  to  kiss  the 
child,  and  answer,  "Yes."  Then,  perhaps, 
for  twenty-four  hours  the  lion  would  be 
curled  up,  asleep,  and  out  of  sight  in  his 
den,  and  the  lamb  would  be  playfully  frisk' 
ing  about  the  house,  a  pet  for  everybody. 


10  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

But  often  and  often,  when  Susy  and 
Prudy  came  in  from  school  or  play,  they 
found  their  baby  sister  in  disgrace,  perched 
upon  the  wood-box  in  the  kitchen,  with 
feet  and  hands  firmly  tied.  There  she 
would  sit,  throwing  out  the  loudest  noise 
possible  from  her  little  throat.  It  was  the 
young  lion  again,  roaring  in  his  cage. 

Prudy,  though  her  heart  swelled  with 
pity,  dared  not  say,  — 

"Don't  scream  so,  little  sister!  Please 
don't  pound  so  with  your  feet ! " 

For  when  the  lion  fits  were  on,  it  was 
always  safest  to  let  the  unhappy  child  alone. 
Prudy,  who  had  no  more  temper  than  a 
humming-bird,  and  Susy,  who  was  only 
moderately  fretful  once  in  a  while,  were 
made  very  unhappy  by  Dotty's  dreadful 
behavior.  At  such  times  as  I  describe, 
they  even  looked  guilty,  and  cast  down 


THE    LION   A1SD   THE   LAMB.  11 

their  eyes,  for  they  could  not  help  feeling 
their  sister's  conduct  as  a  family  disgrace. 
They  never  spoke  to  any  one  about  it,  and 
bore  all  her  freaks  with  wonderful  patience. 
When  the  little  one  plucked  at  their  hair 
or  ears,  they  said,  pitifully,  — 

"It's  worse  for  her  than  it  is  for  us.  It 
makes  her  throat  so  sore  to  scream  so." 

They  were  especially  careful  never  to 
provoke  her  to  wrath.  Perhaps,  for  the 
sake  of  peace,  they  yielded  to  her  too 
much.  If  there  was  anything  Dotty  dear 
ly  loved,  it  was  her  own  way;  and  the 
thing  she  most  heartily  despised  was  "giv 
ing  up." 

At  the  time  of  which  we  now  write  she 
was  no  longer  a  mere  baby,  and  her  "  rea 
sons,"  as  Prudy  had  said,  were  "  beginning 
to  grow."  She  was  never  placed  on  the 
wood-box  now,  with  hands  and  feet  tied; 


12  DOTTY  DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

and  as  for  pulling  hair,  she  was  ashamed 
of  the  practice. 

On  this  particular  morning  she  had 
"waked  up  wrong."  You  all  know  what 
that  means.  Perhaps  her  dream  stopped 
in  the  most  interesting  place,  or  perhaps 
some  of  the  wonderful  machinery  of  her 
body  was  out  of  order,  and  caused  a  twitch 
ing  of  the  delicate  nerves  which  lie  under 
the  skin.  At  any  rate,  when  the  cloudy 
sun  peeped  through  the  white  curtains  of 
Dotty's  pleasant  chamber,  he  found  that 
little  lady  out  of  sorts. 

"There,  now,  how  long  have  you  been 
awake,  Prudy?  Why  didn't  you  speak?" 

"  O,  it  isn't  anywhere  near  breakfast 
time,  Dotty;  Norah  hasn't  ground  the 
coffee  yet." 

"Then  I  should  think  she  might!  She 
knows  I'm  hungry,  and  that  makes  her  be 


THE   LION  AND   THE   LAMB.  13 

as  slow  as  a  board  nail !  —  I'll  tell  you  what 
I  wish,  Prudy.  I  wish  the  whole  world 
was  a  'normous  cling-stone  peach,  so  I 
could  keep  eating  for  always,  and  never 
come  to  the  stone." 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Prudy,  pleasantly. 
w  I  believe  I'd  rather  have  it  a  Bartlett  pear 
—  dead  ripe." 

"  H'm !  You  may  have  your  old  Bartnot 
pears,  Prudy  Parlin;  nobody  wants  'em 
but  just  you !  The  next  sweet,  juicy 
peach  that  comes  into  this  house  I'll  eat 
it  myself,  'cause  you  don't  like  peaches; 
you  just  said  you  didn't !  " 

Prudy  was  considerate  enough  to  make 
no  reply.  By  living  with  Dotty,  she  had 
learned  many  lessons  in  w  holding  her 
peace." 

"Perhaps  we'd  better  get  up,"  suggested 
she,  rubbing  her  eyes. 


14  DOTTY    DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

Whereupon  Dotty  pursed  her  little  red 
lips. 

"Let's  play  keep  house,"  answered  she, 
for  .the  sake  of  being  cross-grained. 

w  Well,  I  don't  care  much,"  said  Prudy, 
anxious  to  keep  the  peace. 

They  proceeded  to  make  a  tent  of  the 
upper  sheet,  and  converse  upon  the  trials 
of  this  troublesome  life,  as  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Carter,  the  two  heads  of  a  family. 

"  There's  our  Sammy,"  said  Prudy,  dole 
fully,  "our  poor  Sammy.  I  don't  see,  Mrs. 
Carter,  what  we  shall  do  with  that  boy. 
Within  a  day  or  two  he  has  taken  to  steal 
ing  acorns ! " 

"Acorns!"  responded  Dotty,  in  a  tragic 
tone.  rO,  Mr.  Carter,  I  sejest  the  best 
thing  we  can  do  is  to  stand  him  up  in  the 
sink,  and  pump  water  on  him ! " 

"  I  never  thought  of  that,  my  dear  wife  ! 


THE   LION   AND   THE   LAMB.  15 

You  are  prob'bly  correct !  —  prob'bly  cor 
rect. —  But  what  course  shall  we  pursue 
with  Mary  Ann,  and  Julia  Ann,  and  Anna 
Maria  ?  They  all  bite  their  finger  nails  — 
bite  'em  down  to  the  double-quick." 

"I  would  sejest,  sejest  —  why  don't  you 
give  those  children  some  proxitude  of  iron, 
my  dear  —  through  a  knitting-needle  ? 
Hark ! "  continued  she,  as  Prudy  scratched 
the  top  of  the  tent  with  her  forefinger. 
"There's  a  mouse  in  this  house,  Mr.  Car 
ter  :  you  must  set  a  trap  as  quick  as  you 
can  spring ! " 

"  Very  correct,"  replied  the  obedient  hus 
band,  "  very  correct,  Mrs.  Carter.  I'll  call 
Jerusha  to  toast  some  cheese.  Je-ru- 
shay!" 

"What  do  you  mean  by  Jerusha,  Mr. 
Carter?  We  haven't  any  in  the  house." 

"  O,  she  is  our  chambermaid,  my  dear." 


16  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

*  But  I  won't  'low  her  to  be  Jerusher,  Mr. 
Carter ! " 

"But,  my  dear  wife,  Jerusha  is  a  proper 
name ;  it  belongs  to  her." 

"No,  it  isn't  a  proper  name  either;  it's  a 
very  improper  name,  Prudy  Parlin ;  and  if 
you  call  her  Jerusher  so,  I'll  get  us  both 
dis-vosed!  " 

Prudy  saw  it  was  useless  to  continue  the 
game :  Dotty  was  not  in  a  mood  to  be  sat 
isfied.  The  two  children  arose  and  dressed 
themselves,  Prudy  taking  peculiar  care  not 
to  finish  her  own  toilet  first. 

"I'm  going  to  tell  you  something,"  said 
Dotty,  grimly,  "  but  you  mustn't  tell  mam 
ma.  I've  made  up  my  mind  to  be 
naughty !  " 

"To  be  naughty?" 

"Yes,  that's  what  I  said  —  naughty! 
I'm  tired  all  out  o'  bein'  good !  First 


THE   LION  AND   THE   LAMB.  17 

thing  I  thought  was,  I'd  be  bad  all  day.  I 
want  to  fret,  and  I'm  going  to  fret !  " 

"  O,  Do-otty  !    Dotty  Di-imple  !  " 

"  You  needn't  say  anything,  Prudy  Parlin. 
You  can  talk  as  grand  as  a  whale.  But  if 
I  want  to  go  and  be  naughty,  you  can't 
help  yourself !  " 

Prudy's  face  took  on  a  look  of  real  dis 
tress.  What  this  little  queer  mixture  of  a 
girl  might  do,  if  she  really  chose  to  be 
naughty,  it  was  not  pleasant  to  fancy. 

The  two  went  down  stairs  together.  As 
they  entered  the  cheerful  dining-room,  the 
joyous  sun  burst  into  a  round  smile,  as  if 
he  had  thrown  off  his  yesterday's  vapors, 
and  never  meant  to  be  low-spirited  again. 
But  Dotty  looked  foggier  than  ever. 

It  was  a  delightful  room.  The  wall 
paper  was  the  color  of  rich  cream;  the 
pictures  were  beautiful ;  the  table,  with  its 


18  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

snowy  cloth  and  white  dishes,  was  pleasant 
to  the  eye ;  still,  it  was  not  so  much  the 
objects  to  be  seen  as  it  was  the  "  air "  of 
the  room  which  made  it  seem  so  delightful. 
You  knew  at  once,  as  you  looked  at  the 
people  who  gathered  around  the  table  that 
morning,  that  they  all  loved  one  another ; 
and  family  love  makes  any  house  seem  like 
home. 

*  Grandma  Eead  was  there  in  her  plain 
Quaker  cap,  with  the  nicely-starched  ker 
chief  crossed  upon  her  bosom  ;  Mr.  Parlin 
in  his  drab  dressing-gown,  lined  with  crim 
son;  Mrs.  Parlin  in  a  print  wrapper,  with 
a  linen  collar  at  the  throat,  her  hair  as 
smooth  as  satin ;  the  three  little  girls  all 
neatly  dressed,  and  all  happy  but  Dotty. 
Susy's  mocking-bird  hung  in  a  cage  by  one 
of  the  windows,  and  "brother  Zip"  was 
lounging  in  an  arm-chair,  catching  flies. 


THE   LION   AND   THE   LAMB.  19 

After  everybody  was  comfortably  seated, 
and  had  said  "Good  morning,"  then  a 
"silent  blessing,"  according  to  the  cus 
tom  of  the  Friends,  was  asked  upon  the 
food.  All  sat  with  folded  hands,  and  eyes 
reverently  fixed  upon  their  plates.  Dotty 
knew  very  well  they  were  asking  to  be 
made  thankful  for  the  excellent  breakfast 
before  them.  She  repeated  to  herself  sev 
eral  times  the  sentence  she  had  been  taught ; 
for,  in  spite  of  her  intention  to  be  naughty, 
she  dared  not  omit  it.  When  Mr.  Parlin 
began  to  pass  the  butter,  she  was  still  look 
ing  at  her  plate,  and  startled  the  whole 
family  by  saying  aloud,  "Amen!". 

Grandma  looked  at  the  little  girl  with 
surprise  and  disapproval.  Dotty  blushed 
painfully.  She  had  not  meant  to  be  irrev 
erent.  Next  moment  she  thought,  — 

"Now  they  all  s'pose  I  did  that  to  pur- 


20        DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

pose!  I  don't  care  if  they  do!  I'll  act 
worse'n  that !  I  wonder  what  my  father'd 
say  if  I  should  jump  right  up  and  down, 
and  scream  ?  " 

It  certainly  was  not  safe  to  try  the  ex 
periment.  Dotty  contented  herself  by 
scowling  at  her  dry  toast. 

But  after  her  father  had  gone  away  to  his 
business,  and  her  mother  had  begun  to 
make  preserves  in  the  kitchen,  she  went 
down  cellar,  into  the  w-ash-room,  and  began 
to  tease  Norah.  Norah,  who  was  fond  of 
the  child,  and  in  general  very  good-natured, 
was  not  in  a  mood  this  morning  to  be  trifled 
with. 

"Indeed,  Miss  Flippet,"  said  she,  indig 
nantly,  "I  shall  put  up  with  no  more  of 
your  pranks  !  It's  not  your  sister  Prudy 
who  would  go  to  hidin'  my  soap,  and  me  in 
a  hurry ! " 


THE   LION   AND    THE    LAMB.  21 

"  She  likes  Prudy  best.  I  always  knew 
she  did,  and  everybody  else,"  thought 
Dotty,  wrathfully,  — "  everybody  else  but 
me !  " 

And  the  temper  which  had  been  smoul 
dering  all  the  morning  blazed  up  hotly. 

"Call  me  Miss  Flippet  again,  if  you 
dare ! "  cried  she,  with  battle-fires  in  her 
eyes.  "What  you  s'pose  the  mayor'll  do 
to  you,  miss?  He'll  put  you  in  the  lock 
up —  yes,  he  will!" 

At  this  foolish  speech  Norah's  mouth  as 
sumed  a  mocking  smile,  which  added  live 
coals  to  Dotty  Js  wrath. 

"You  rnizzable  Cath'lic  girl!  You  —  you 
—  you  —  " 

"Words  were  choked  in  the  smoke  and 
flame  of  her  anger.  I  mean  to  say  that 
dreadful  "lion,"  which  had  not  come  out 
in  his  full  strength  for  years,  suddenly 


22  DOTTT   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

sprang  up,  and  shook  his  mane.  Dotty 
could  not  speak.  She  lost  her  reason. 
Her  head  was  on  fire.  Her  hands  and 
feet  began  to  fly  out.  She  danced  up  and 
down.  Her  terrific  screams  brought  her 
mother  down  in  haste,  to  see  what  was  the 
matter.  Dotty's  face  was  crimson;  her 
eyes  shining  fiercely ;  her  voice  hoarse 
from  screaming. 

"  Indeed,  ma'am,"  said  Norah,  really 
alarmed,  "I've  no  means  of  knowing 
what's  put  her  in  such  a  way,  ma'am." 

"  She  called  me  everything  ! "  cried  Dotty, 
getting  her  voice  again.  "I  was  Miss  Flip- 
pet  !  I  was  all  the  wicked  girls  in  this 
town ! " 

Norah  looked  a  little  mortified.  She 
knew  her  mistress  was  very  "particular," 
and  did  not  allow  any  one  in  her  house  to 
"call  names."  But  just  now  Mrs.  Parlin 


THE   LION   AND   THE   LAMB.  23 

had  no  time  to  give  Norah  a  mild  reproof, 
her  whole  attention  being  devoted  to  the 
half-insane  Dotty,  whose  most  unusual  ex 
hibition  of  temper  filled  her  with  dreadful 
apprehensions. 

"Alas,"  thought  the  good  mother,  "is  this 
child  going  to  live  over  again  those  dread 
ful  days  of  her  babyhood?  The  Lord  give 
me  wisdom  to  know  what  to  do  with  her !  " 

Mrs.  Parlin  soon  succeeded  in  quieting 
the  turbulent  Dotty ;  and  deep  silence  fell 
upon  the  wash-room. 

"My  dear  little  girl,"  said  she,  very 
gently,  "I  desire  you  to  spend  the  rest 
of  the  morning  alone.  You  need  not  talk 
or  play  with  either  of  your  sisters.  You 
may  think.  When  the  bell  rings  you  may 
come  to  dinner;  and  after  dinner  I  would 
like  to  see  you  in  the  nursery." 

In  half  an  hour  Dotty  had  such  a  look 


24  DOTTY  DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

of  heartache  in  her  face  that  Prudy  longed 
to  comfort  her,  only  speech  was  forbidden. 
The  little  creature  was  out  in  the  front 
yard,  poking  dirt  with  a  stick,  and  secretly 
wondering  if  she  could  make  a  hole  deep 
enough  to  lie  down  in  and  die. 


A   SAD    STORY.  25 


CHAPTER   II. 

A   SAD    STORY. 

AFTER  dinner,  Mrs.  Purlin  was  seated  on 
the  lounge  in  the  nursery,  looking  very  sad. 
Eaising  her  eyes,  she  saw  Dotty  standing 
before  her,  twisting  a  corner  of  her  apron. 
The  child  had  entered  as  quietly  as  her  own 
shadow,  and  her  mother  had  not  heard  a 
footfall. 

"My  dear  little  girl,  I  ain  going  to  tell 
you  a  story." 

"Yes,  >m." 

Dotty  looked  steadily  at  her  finger-nails. 

tf  A  true  story  about  a  child  who  let  her 
temper  run  away  with  her." 


26  DOTTY  DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

"Yes,  ?m,"  replied  Dotty  again,  giving 
her  mother  a  view  of  her  rosy  right  ear. 

Mrs.  Parlin  saw  that  Dotty  was  very 
much  ashamed.  Her  face  did  not  look  as 
it  had  looked  in  the  early  morning.  Then 

"  There  was  a  hardness  in  her  eye, 
There  was  a  hardness  in  her  cheek :  " 

now  she  appeared  as  if  she  would  be  veiy 
much  obliged  to  the  nursery  floor  if  it 
would  open  like  a  trap-door  and  let  her  fall 
through,  out  of  everybody's  sight. 

"The  little  girl  I  am  going  to  tell  you 
about,  Dotty,  lived  in  this  state.  Her  name 
was  Harriet  Snow.  Her  father  and  mother 
were  both  dead.  She  hacl  occasional  fits  of 
temper,  which  were  very  dreadful  indeed. 
At  such  times  she  would  hop  up  and  down 
and  scream." 

Dotty  tied  the  two  corners  of  her  apron 


A   SAD    STORY.  27 

into  a  hard  knot.     The  story  was  rather  too 
personal. 

"Was  the   little   girl  pretty?"    said  she,, 
trying  to  change  the  subject. 

"Not  very  pretty,  I  think.  Her  skin 
was  dark;  her  eyes  were  black,  and  re 
markably  bright.  When  I  saw  her,  she 
was  thirteen  years  old ;  and  you  m'ay  know, 
Dotty,  that  by  that  time  her  face  could  not 
well  be  very  pleasant :  temper  always  leaves 
its  marks." 

Dotty  looked  at  her  little  plump  hands,  as 
if  she  expected  to  see  black  spots  on  them. 

"  Sometimes  Harriet  beat  her  head  against 
the  wall  so  violently  that  there  seemed  to  be 
danger  of  her  dashing  her  brains  out." 

Dotty  looked  up  quite  bravely.  This 
dreadful  little  girl  was  worse  than  she  had 
ever  been  !  O,  yes  ! 

"Wasn't  she  crazy,  mamma?" 


28  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

Mrs.  Parlin  shook  her  head. 

"No,  I  am  afraid  not,  dear.  Only,  when 
she  allowed  anger  to  stay  in  her  heart,  it 
made  her  feel  blind  and  dizzy.  Perhaps  she 
was  crazy  for  the  time." 

Dotty  hung  her  head  again.  She  remem 
bered  how  blind  and  dizzy  she  herself  had 
felt  while  screaming  at  Norah  that  morn- 


o 


"This  little  girl  had  no  mother  to  warn 
her  against  indulging  her  temper.  When 
she  had  the  feeling  of  hate  swelling  at  her 
heart,  nobody  told  her  what  it  was  like. 
You  know  what  it  is  like,  Dotty?" 

Dotty's  chin  drooped,  and  rested  in  the 
hollow  of  her  neck. 

"I  don't  want  to  tell  you,  mamma." 

"Like  murder,  my  child." 

Dotty  shuddered,  though  she  had  known 
this  before.  Her  mother  had  often  read  to 


A   SAD    STORY.  29 

her  from  the  Bible,  that  "  whosoever  hateth 
his  brother  is  a  murderer." 

"  Well,  there  was  no  one  to  love  this  poor 
Harriet;  she  was  not  lovable." 

"No, 'm,  she  was  hateable!"  remarked 
Dotty,  anxious  to  say  something;  for  if  she 
held  her  peace,  she  was  afraid  her  mother 
would  think  she  was  applying  the  story  to 
herself. 

"  There  was  no  one  to  love  her ;  so  a  wo 
man  took  her,  and  was  paid  for  it  by  the 
town." 

"Town?  Town,  mamma?  A  town  is 
houses ." 

"  She  was  paid  for  it  by  men  in  the  town. 
I  don't  know  whether  this  woman  tried  to 
teach  Harriet  in  the  right  way  or  not.  It 
may  be  she  had  so  much  to  do  that  she 
thought  it  less  trouble  to  punish  her  when 
she  was  naughty  than  to  instruct  her  how 
to  be  good." 


30  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

w  O,  yes ;  I  s'pose  she  struck  her  with  a 
stick,"  said  Dotty,  patting  her  forefingers 
together  —  "just  this  way." 

"Harriet  had  the  care  of  one  of  Mrs. 
Gray's  children,  a  lively  little  boy  about 
two  years  old." 

"  Was  he  cunning  ?  As  cunning  as  Katie 
Clifford?  Did  he  say,  'If  you  love  me,  you 
give  me  hunnerd  dollars ;  and  I  go  buy  me 
'tick  o' canny'?" 

"  Very  likely  he  was  quite  as  cunning  as 
Katie.  You  would  hardly  think  any  one 
could  get  out  of  patience  writh  such  a  little 
creature  —  would  you,  my  daughter?" 

"  No,  indeed  !  "  cried  Dotty,  eagerly,  and 
feeling  that  she  was  on  safe  ground,  for  she 
loved  babies  dearly,  and  was  always  patient 
with  them. 

"  I  don't  know  but  Harriet  was  envious  of 
Mrs.  Gray's  little  boy,  because  he  had  nicer 
things  to  eat  than  she  had/' 


A   SAD    STORY.  31 

"  Well,  it  ought  to  have  nicer  things, 
mamma,  'cause  it  hadn't  any  teeth." 

"  And  she  got  tired  of  running  after  him." 

"No  matter  if  she  did  get  tired,  mamma; 
the  baby  was  tireder  than  she  was  !  " 

"And  the  parents  think  now  it  is  very 
likely  she  was  in  the  habit  of  striking  him 
when  nobody  knew  it." 

"  What  a  naughty,  wicked,  awful  girl ! " 
cried  Dotty,  her  eyes  flashing. 

"She  had  a  fiery  temper,  my  child,  and 
had  never  learned  to  control  it." 

Dotty  looked  at  her  feet  in  silence. 

"  The  baby  was  afraid  of  his  little  nurse ; 
but  he  could  not  speak  to  tell  how  he  was 
abused ;  all  he  could  do  was  to  cry  when  he 
was  left  with  Harriet.  But  one  day  Mrs. 
Gray  was  obliged  to  go  away  to  see  her  sick 
mother.  She  charged  Harriet  to  take  good 
care  of  little  Freddy,  and  give  him  some 


32  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

baked    apples    and    milk    if    he   was   him- 

gry." 

w  With  bread  in  ?  "  suggested  Dotty. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so.  Then  she  kissed  her 
baby.  He  put  his  arms  around  her  neck, 
and  cried  to  go  too  ;  but  she  could  not  take 
him." 

"  I  s'pose  he  cried  'cause  he  'xpected  that 
awful  girl  was  a-going  to  shake  him,"  said 
Dotty,  indignantly. 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  precisely  what  Harriet 
did  to  him  ;  but  when  the  father  and  mother 
got  home,  that  darling  boy  was  moaning  in 
great  pain.  They  sent  for  the  doctor,  who 
said  his  spine  was  injured,  and  perhaps  he 
would  never  walk  again;  and,  indeed,  he 
never  did." 

"  O,  mamma  !  mamma  Parlin  !  " 

"Yes,  my  child;  and  it  is  supposed  that 
Harriet  must  have  hurt  him  in  one  of  her 
fits  of  rage." 


A    SAD    STORY.  33 

Dotty's  face  had  grown  very  white. 

"O,  manarna,  what  did  the  folks  do  with 
Harriet?" 

"They  took  her  to  court,  and  tried  her 
for  abusing  the  little  boy.  They  could  not 
prove  that  she  was  really  guilty,  though 
everybody  believed  she  was." 

"I  know  what ' guilty '  means,  mamma;  it 
means  liung" 

"  No,  dear ;  if  she  hurt  the  baby  she  was 
guilty,  whether  she  wras  punished  for  it  or 
not." 

"Well,  she  did  it,  I  just  know  she  did  it ! ' 
exclaimed  Dotty,  greatly  excited.  :?  That 
little  tinty  boy  !  " 

"The  judge  pitied  her  for  her  youth  and 
ignorance  ;  so  did  the  twelve  men  called  the 
'jury ; '  and  she  was  allowed  to  go  free." 

"Then  did  she  'buse  somebody's  else's 
baby,  mamma?" 


34  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

w  I  hope  not.  The  last  I  heard  of  her  she 
was  married  to  a  negro  fiddler." 

"  O !  " 

t?  Do  you  know  why  I  have  told  you  this 
sad  story,  my  little  daughter?" 

"'Cause,  'cause — Harriet  beat  her  head 
against  the  door,  and -hurt  a  baby,  and  — 
and  —  married  black  folks  !  " 

Dotty  was  very  pale,  and  there  was  a  tear 
in  her  voice ;  still  her  mother  could  not  be 
sure  that  her  words  had  made  much  impres 
sion.  She  was  afraid  her  long  story  had 
been  "love's  labor  lost." 

But  I  believe  it  had  not  been.  Not 
entirely,  at  least.  Dotty  thought  of  Harriet 
all  the  afternoon,  and  walked  about  the 
house  with  a  demureness  quite  unusual. 

"O,  Prudy  !"  said  she,  when  they  two  were 
alone  in  the  parlor,  looking  over  a  book  of 
engravings,  "I'm  going  to  tell  you  some- 


"I'M    GOING    TO    TELL    YOU    SOMETHING." 

Page  34. 


A    SAD    STORY.  35 

thing ; '  twill  make  you  scream  right  out 
loud,  and  your  hair  stick  up  ! " 

"Don't,"  laughed  Prudy,  "I've  just 
brushed  my  hair." 

"  Once  there  was  a  girl,  Prudy,  lived  in 
this  state ;  and  mother  thinks  she  was  just 
like  me.  But  she  wasn't,  truly.  She  was 
homely ;  and  her  hair  was  black ;  and  her 
mother  was  dead.  The  woman  spatted  her 
with  a  stick  where  she  lived.  And  she 
didn't  love  the  baby  any  at  all,  'cause  he  had 
nicer  things,  you  know ;  and  I  guess  white 
sugar  and  verserves.  So  she  stuck  a  spine 
into  him  —  only  think  !  In  his  crib  !  So  he 
never  walked  ever  again !  And  his  father 
and  mother  were  gone  away,  and  told  her 
to  give  him  baked  apples  and  milk  —  with 
bread  in ! " 

"Why,  that  can't  be  true,  Dotty  Parlin  ! " 

"Yes,  indeed!  Certain  true,  black  and 
blue.  Guess  my  mother  knows  !  " 


So  DOTTY    PIMPLE    AT    HOME. 

"What!"  said  Prudy,  "just  for  baked 
apples  and  milk?" 

"Yes.     Her  name  was  Harriet." 

"What  did  you  say  she  did  it  with, 
Dotty?" 

"Mamma  said  a  spine.  They  took  her 
to  the  court-house ;  but  they  didift  hang 
her,  'cause  she  —  I've  forgot  what  —  but 
they  didn't.  They  made  her  marry  a  black 
man  —  that's  all  I  know  ! " 

"Well,  there,  how  queer!"  said  Prudy, 
drawing  a  long  breath.  "If  I  was  Harriet 
I'd  rather  have  been  hung.  Was  he  all 
black?" 

c?  Yes,  solid  black.  But  I  s'pose  she 
didn't  want  to  choke  to  death  any  more'n 
you  do." 

"  Dotty,"  said  Prudy,  with  a  meaning  in 
her  tone,  "  what  do  you  suppose  made  mam 
ma  tell  you  that  story?" 


A   SAD    STORY.  37 

"I  don't  know." 

Dotty  looked  deeply  dejected. 

"Little  sister,"  continued  Prudy,  taking 
advantage  of  the  child's  softened  mood, 
"  don't  you  wish  you  didn't  let  yourself  be 
so  angry?" 

"  Yes,  I  do,  so  there  !  "  was  the  quick  and 
earnest  reply. 

Prudy  was  "astonished.  It  was  the  first 
time  this  proud  sister  had  ever  acknowl 
edged  herself  wrong. 

"  Then,  Dotty,  what  if  you  try  to  be  good, 
and  see  how  'twill  seem  ?  " 

"Won't  you  tell  anybody,  Prudy?" 

"No,  never." 

"Well,  I  will  be  good  !  I  can  swallow  it 
down  if  I  want  to." 

Observe  what  faith  the  child  had  in  her 
self! 

Prudy  clapped  her  hands. 


38  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"There,  don't  you  talk  any  more,"  added 
Miss  Dimple,  with  a  sudden  sense  of  shame, 
and  a  desire  to  conceal  her  emotions. 
"Let's  make  pictures  on  the  slate." 

Prudy  was  ready  for  anything ;  her  heart 
was  very  light.  She  was  too  wise  to  re 
mind  Dotty  of  her  new  resolution ;  but  she 
kept  a  journal,  and  that  evening  there  was 
a  precious  item  to  make  in  it. 

I  think,  by  the  way,  that  Prudy's  habit  of 
keeping  a  journal  was  an  excellent  thing. 
She  learned  by  the  means  to  express  her 
thoughts  with  some  degree  of  clearness,  and 
it  was  also  an  improvement  to  her  hand 
writing. 

"  July  2d.  My  sister  Dotty  thinks,  cer 
tain,  positive,  she  will  be  a  good  girl;  and 
this  is  the  day  she  begins.  But  I  shall  not 
tell  anybody,  for  I  promised,  'No,  never.' 


A   SAD    STORY.  39 

"My  mother  told  her  about  a  girl  that 
almost  killed  a  dear  little  boy  because  they 
asked  her  to  give  him  baked  apples  and 
milk.  I  heard  my  father  say  to  my  mother 
that  he  thought  the  story  pierced  Dotty  like 
a  two-leg-ged  sword.  So  I  don't  think  she 
will  ever  get  angry  again.  Finis." 

Prudy  always  added  the  word  "  Finis  "  at 
the  close  of  her  remarks  each  day,  consider 
ing  it  a  very  good  ending. 


40  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 


CHAPTEE    III. 

FIKE. 

FOR  a  few  days  after  this,  Dotty  Dimple 
had  little  time  to  think  of  her  new  resolu 
tion.  Nothing  occurred  to  call  forth  her 
anger,  but  a  great  deal  to  fill  her  with  as 
tonishment  and  awe. 

The  three  little  girls,  for  the  first  time  in 
their  lives,  were  learning  a  lesson  in  the 
uncertainty  of  human  events.  They  had 
never  dreamed  that  anything  about  their 
delightful  home  could  ever  change.  If 
they  thought  of  it  at  all,  they  supposed 
their  dear  father  and  mother,  and  their 
serene  grandmamma  Read,  would  always 


FIRE.  41 

live,  and  be  exactly  as  they  were  now; 
that  their  home  would  continue  beautiful 
and  bright,  and  there  would  be  "  good 
times"  in  it  as  long  as  the  world  stands. 

It  is  true  they  heard  at  church  that  it  is 
not  safe  for  us  to  set  our  affections  too 
strongly  upon  things  below,  because  they 
may  fail  us  at  any  moment,  and  there  is 
nothing  sure  but  heaven.  Still,  like  most 
children,  they  listened  to  such  words  care 
lessly,  as  to  something  vague  and  far  away. 
It  was  only  when  they  were  left,  in  one 
short  day,  without  a  roof  over  their  heads, 
that  Susy  sobbed  out, — 

"O,  Prudy,  this  world  is  nothing  but  one 
big  bubble ! " 

And  Prudy  replied,  sadly, — 

"  Seems  more  like  shavings  !  " 

You  all  know  how  an  innocent-looking 
fire-cracker  set  Portland  ablaze,  but  you 


42        DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

can  have  little  idea  of  the  terror  which 
that  woful  Fourth  of  July  night  brought 
to  our  three  little  girls. 

When  I  think  of  it  now,  I  fancy  I  see 
them  speeding  up  and  down  that  departed 
staircase,  trying  to  help  the  men  carry 
water  to  pour  on  the  roof.  The  earnest 
ness  of  their  faces  is  very  striking  as  Susy 
brandishes  a  pail,  Dotty  a  glass  pitcher, 
and  Prudy  a  watering-pot,  in  the  delusive 
hope  that  they  are  making  themselves 
useful. 

After  this,  when  the  children  have  had  a 
troubled  sleep,,  and  wake  in  the  morning 
to  find  the  house  actually  on  fire,  the  horror 
is  something  always  to  be  remembered. 
Flames  are  already  bursting  out  of  some 
of  the  lower  windows.  It  is  no  longer  of 
any  use  to  pour  water.  There  is  no  time 
to  be  lost.  Mrs.  Parlin  hurries  the  children 


FIRE.  43 

down  stairs,  and  out  of  the  house,  under 
their  grandmother's  protection. 

They  thread  their  dismal  way  up  town, 
through  smoke  and  flame,  Susy  shedding 
tears  enough  to  put  out  a  common  coal 
fire.  It  is,  indeed,  a  bitter  thing  to  turn 
their  backs  upon  that  dear  old  home,  and 
know  for  a  certainty  that  they  will  never 
see  it  again  !  In  the  place  where  it  stands 
there  will  soon  be  a  black  ruin  ! 

"The  fire  is  lapping  and  licking,"  says 
Prudy,  "like  a  cat  eating  cream." 

"I  hope  it  has  a  good  time  eating  our 
house  up ! "  cried  Dotty,  in  wrath. 

Susy  groans.  Dotty  thinks  they  are  go 
ing  to  be  beggars  in  rags  and  jags.  Prudy, 
always  ready  with  her  trap  to  catch  a  sun 
beam,  says  that  after  all  there  are  other 
little  girls  in  the  world  worse  off  than  they 
are.  Susy  thinks  not. 


44  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"O,  children,  you  are  young  and  can't 
realize  it ;  but  this  is  awful !  " 

Dotty  tries  to  be  more  wretched  than 
ever,  to  satisfy  her  eldest  sister's  ideas 
of  justice.  She  sends  out  from  her  throat 
a  sound  of  agony,  which  resembles  a  howl. 

Prudy's  chief  consolation  is  in  remem 
bering,  as  she  says,  that  "  God  knows  we 
are  afire."  Prudy  is  always  sure  God  will 
not  let  anything  happen  that  is  too  dread 
ful.  She  has  observed  that  her  mother  is 
calm ;  and  whatever  mamma  says  and  does 
always  approves  itself  to  this  second  daugh 
ter. 

But  Susy  can  only  wring  her  hands  in 
hopeless  despair.  She  has  helped  save  the 
books,  still  she  "  expects  they  will  burn  up, 
somehow,  on  the  road."  Her  pony  has  been 
trotting  about  through  the  night;  his  hair 
is  singed,  and  she  "  presumes  it  will  strike 


FIRE.  45 

in  and  kill  him."  The  world  is,  to  Susy's 
view,  one  vast  scene  of  lurid  horrors.  If 
she  couldn't  cry,  she  thinks  she  should  cer 
tainly  die. 

But  this  strange  night  came  to  an  end. 
Dreadful  things  may  and  do  happen  in 
this  world,  but,  as  a  general  rule,  they 
do  not  last  a  great  while.  The  fire 
did  its  work,  and  then  stopped.  It  was 
fearful  while  it  raged,  and  it  left  a  pitiful 
wreck ;  still,  as  Mrs.  Parlin  said,  it  was 
"  not  so  bad  but  it  might  have  been  worse." 
"Nothing,"  she  always  declared,  "ought  to 
make  us  really  unhappy  except  sin." 

"And  here  we  are,  all  alive,"  said  she, 
with  tearful  eyes,  as  she  tried  to  put  her 
arms  around  the  three  little  girls  at  once. 
"  All  alive  and  well !  Let  us  thank  God  for 
that." 

"  I  guess  I  shan't  cry  much  while  I  have 


46  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT    HOME. 

my  blessed  mother  to  hold  on  to,"  said 
Prudy,  pressing  her  cheek  against  Mrs. 
Parlin's  belt-slide. 

"Nor  I  neither,"  spoke  up  Dotty,  very 
bravely,  till  a  sudden  spasm  of  recollection 
changed  her  tone,  and  she  added,  faintly, 
"If  'twasn't  for  my  cunning  little  tea- 
set  !  " 

"I  shouldn't  care  a  single  thing  about  the 
fire,"  sobbed  Susy,  "if  it  hadn't  burnt  our 
house  up,  you  know.  You  see  it  was 
where  we  lived.  We  had  such  good  times 
in  it,  with  the  rooms  as  pleasant  as  you 
can  think  !  Nothing  in  the  world  ever  hap 
pened  :  and  now  that  pony  !  O,  dear,  and 
my  room  where  the  sun  rose !  I  don't 
know  what's  the  matter  with  me,  but  seems 
as  if  I  should  die  !  " 

"And  me,  too,"  sighed  Dotty.  "I  just 
about  know  that  man  threw  my  tea-set 


FIRE.  47 

into  the  Back  Cove ;  and  now  we  haven't 
any  home  !  " 

"It  is  home  where  the  heart  is,  children," 
said  Mrs.  Parlin,  tenderly ;  but  something 
choked  her  voice  as  she  spoke. 

Though  she  was  never  known,  either  then 
or  afterwards,  to  murmur,  still  it  is  barely 
possible  she  may  have  felt  the  loss  of  her 
precious  home  as  much  as  even  Susy  did. 

For  the  present  the  family  were  to  remain 
at  Mr.  Eastman's ;  and  it  was  in  the  parlor 
chamber  of  that  house  that  Mrs.  Parlin  and 
her  three  children  were  standing,  glad  to 
find  themselves  together  once  more,  after 
the  night  of  confusion. 

Grandma  Read,  who  was  as  patient  as 
her  daughter,  "tried  to  gather  into  still 
ness,"  and  settle  herself  as  soon  as  possible 
to  her  Bible.  But  the  change  from  the 
Sabbath-like  quiet  of  her  old  room  to  the 


48  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

confusion  of  this  noisy  dwelling  must  have 
tried  her  severely. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eastman,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Parlin,  were  busy  enough  from  morning 
till  night,  day  after  day^  searching  for 
missing  goods,  and  aiding  the  sufferers 
from  the  fire.  The  Eastman  mansion  was 
left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  five  chil 
dren  —  the  Parlins,  and  Florence,  and 
Johnny. 

Master  Percy  would  probably  look  in 
sulted  if  he  were  to  be  classed  among  the 
children.  In  his  younger  days  he  had  had 
his  share  in  ringing  people's  door-bells  and 
then  running  away;  now,  in  his  maturer 
years,  he  did  not  scruple  to  tease  little 
folks,  when  they  could  be  "tickled  with  a 
straw"  held  under  the  chin,  or  when  they 
were  easily  vexed,  and  answered  him  back 
with  an  angry  word  or  a  furious  scowl.  He 


FIRE.  49 

liked  to  torture  his  "cousin  Dimple."  He 
said  she  shot  out  quills  like  a  little  porcu 
pine.  She  was  a  "regular  brick,"  almost  as 
smart  as  Johnny,  and  that  was  saying  a 
great  deal ;  for  Percy  regarded  the  youthful 
Johnny  as  a  very  promising  child.  He  was 
sorry  to  have  him  corrected  for  trifling 
follies.  If  Percy  had  had  the  care  of  him, 
the  little  fellow  would  not  have  lived  long, 
for  the  older  brother  quite  approved  of  such 
amusements  as  crossing  pins  on  the  rail 
road  track,  running  under  horses'  feet,  and 
walking  on  the  dizzy  roof  of  a  house. 

Mr.  Eastman  was  always  very  busy,  and 
his  wife  had  a  deal  of  visiting  to  do,  so  it 
usually  happened  that  Johnny  had  more 
liberty  than  was  good  for  him. 

Mrs.  Paiiin  knew  this,  and  did  not  like 
to  have  Dotty  thrown  very  much  in  his 
society,  but  just  now  it  certainly  could 
4 


50  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

not  be  avoided ;  Dotty's  constant  desire  to 
"get  out  doors  and  run  somewhere"  seemed 
to  be  fully  gratified,  for  Johnny  despised 
the  inside  of  a  house  more  than  she  did, 
and  they  both  roamed  about  during  the  day 
like  a  couple  of  gypsies. 

Sometimes  Prudy  went  with  them,  but 
their  games  were  rather  rough  for  her  taste. 
Susy  and  Florence  were  generally  together, 
painting  with  water-colors,  pasting  scrap- 
books,  and  doing  a  variety  of  things  in 
which  they  did  not  care  to  have  Prudy 
join.  The  dear  little  girl  might  have  been 
lonely,  and  possibly  grieved,  if  she  had  been 
anything  but  a  "  bird-child."  As  it  was,  she 
sang  when  she  had  no  one  to  talk  with,  and, 
whether  the  rain  fell  or  the  sun  shone,  al 
ways  awoke  with  a  smile,  and  found  the 
world  as  beautiful  as  a  garden. 

She   amused    herself    by   writing   in  her 


FIRE.  51 

little  red  journal,  which  had  come  out  of 
the  fire  unharmed.  Here  is  her  account 
of  the  tragedy  :  — 

"July  7th.  I  ought  to  tell  about  the 
fire ;  but  I  can't  write  with  mother's  pen 
any  more  than  Zip  can  write  with  a 
sponge. 

"I  am  so  sorry,  but  a  boy  fired  a  cracker. 
He  didn't  mean  to  burn  up  the  city  at  all. 
He  just  touched  it  off  for  fun. 

"There  was  going  to  be  a  procession,  but 
I  believe  it  didn't  process.  I  never  saw 
anything  whiz  and  crack  so  in  all  my  life  ! 
The  fire  danced  and  ran  all  over  the  city  as 
if  it  was  alive  !  It  burnt  just  as  if  it  was 
glad  of  it.  The  trees  are  all  black  where 
the  green  was  scorched  off.  You  wouldn't 
think  it  was  summer.  It  doesn't  look  like 
winter.  Father  says  it  looks  like  a  grave 
yard. 


52  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

"Dotty  lost  her  tea-set.  Susy  thought 
she  should  faiut  away,  but  she  didn't  —  we 
couldn't  find  the  camphor  bottle.  A  man 
saved  six  eggs  and  the  peppei  box. 

"It  was  real  too  bad  grandma's  room  was 
burnt  up !  When  I  went  into  grandma's 
room  I  used  to  feel  just  like  singing. 
Mother  says  that  isn't  so  bad  as  wicked 
ness.  She  says  it  is  home  where  the 
heart  is.' 

"Dotty  hasn't  had  any  temper  for  five 
days.  Finis." 

Just  about  this  time  a  letter  came  from 
Willowbrook,  saying  Mrs.  Clifford  was  quite 
ill,  and  asking  Mrs.  Parlin  to  go  to  her. 
Aunt  Louisa  said  it  was  fortunate  that  the 
children  could  stay  at  their  aunt  Eastman's. 
She  did  not  know  that  Mrs.  Parlin  left  them 
there  very  reluctantly,  having  her  own  pri- 


FIRE.  53 

vate  fears  that  her  youngest  daughter  might 
full  into  mischief. 

Dotty  kissed  her  mother  good  by,  and 
promised  to  be  perfect;  but  Mrs.  Parlin 
knew  too  well  how  the  child's  resolutions 
were  apt  to  wither  away  for  want  of  root. 


54  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

PLAYING   HINDOO. 

"JOHNNY,  Johnny,  come  to  the  window, 
quick  !  "  said  Dotty ;  w  see  this  bird  !  " 

"I've  seen  birds  before,"  replied  her  little 
cousin,  coolly,  and  walking  as  slowly  as 
possible. 

"  But  this  one  peeps  as  if  he  was  hurt ; 
see  how  he  pecks  to  get  in." 

"  Don't  you  take  him  in  !  "  exclaimed  An- 
geline,  the  kitchen  girl;  "it's  a  bad  sign  to 
have  birds  come  fluttering  round  a  window." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  a  sign?"  asked 
Dotty,  who  had  never  heard  of  any  silly 
superstitions  in  her  life. 


PLAYING   HINDOO.  55 

"  Let  him  alone,"  cried  Johnny ,  "  or  you'll 
die  before  the  week's  out,  sure's  you  live  !  " 

Dotty  laughed.  "A  bird  can't  make  me 
die,"  said  she,  seizing  the  trembling  little 
oriole,  and  holding  him  close  to  her  bosom. 
"O,  you  birdie  darling!  Did  your  mamma 
go  'way  off,  and  couldn't  find  a  worm  ?  Dot- 
ty'll  be  your  mamma,  so  she  will." 

She  put  him  in  a  basket  stuffed  with  rags, 
and  hung  over  him  tenderly  for  half  an 
hour. 

"  You're  bringing  down  trouble,  Tin 
afraid,  child,"  said  Angeline,  gravely,  as 
she  walked  back  and  forth,  doing  her  work. 

Mrs.  Purlin,  away  off  at  Willowbrook, 
was  at  that  moment  bathing  Mrs.  Clifford's 
forehead.  I  think  she  might  have  dropped 
the  sponge  in  dismay  if  she  had  known  what 
pernicious  nonsense  was  finding  its  way  into 
Dotty's  ears. 


56  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

Just  as  Angeline  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
ghost  story,  Johnny  rushed  in  again. 

"Come,"  said  he,  shaking  Dotty  by  the 
shoulders,  "let's  go  play  poison." 

"  O,  no,  Johnny.  I'm  hearing  the  nicest, 
awfullest  story !  And  then  it  rains  so, 
too  !  " 

"  Doesn't,  either.  Only  sprinkles.  And 
when  it  sprinkles,  it's  a  sure  sign  it  isn't 
going  to  rain." 

"Who  told  you  so?" 

"Your  grandmother  Eead.  She's  a  Qua 
ker,  and  she  can't  lie.  Come,  Dot  Parlin; 
if  you  don't  like  poison,  come  out  and  play 
soldier." 

"I  don't  want  to  play  a  single  thing;  so 
there,  now,  Johnny  Eastman  !  " 

"  Then  you're  a  cross  old  party,  miss. 

"I'm  not  a  party  at  all.  I'm  only  one 
girl." 


PLAYING   HINDOO.  57 

« O,  Dotty ! "  called  Prucly  from  the  cel 
lar-way  ;  "  take  care  !  take  care  !  " 

"  So  I  am  taking  care,"  returned  Dotty, 
stoutly.  "  For  my  own  mother  doesn't  'low 
me  to  go  out  doors  and  get  rained  on,  and 
he  knows  it." 

It  was  coming,  Prudy  feared  —  her  sister's 
naughty  temper.  She  saw  a  shadow  no 
larger  than  a  man's  hand ;  but  it  would  not 
do  to  let  it  grow.  She  must  brush  it  away 
at  once. 

"Let's  play  something  in  the  house,"  said 
she,  quickly. 

"  All  right,"  returned  Johnny ;  "  only  not 
sit  down." 

"Yes,  let's  do  sit  clown,"  interposed  Dot 
ty,  with  a  view  to  thwarting  Johnny. 

"  Suppose  we  play  Hindoo,"  suggested 
Prudy,  w  if  we  can  get  Susy  and  Flossy  into 
it." 


58  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

"Play  what?" 

"Why,  play  we  are  Hindoos,  and  live 
away  off  in  the  Indian  Ocean." 

"  Fishes  or  sharks  ?  "  asked  Johnny,  grow 
ing  interested. 

"  O,  people;  and  they  act  so  queer.  Moth 
er  played  it  with  us  once,  when  Susy  had  the 
toothache." 

The  older  girls  were  hard  to  be  persuaded. 
They  did  not  like  to  leave  their  shell-work ; 
but  they  carne  at  last. 

"Johnny  shall  be  Joggo,"  said  Susy; 
"  that's  a  boy's  name  ;  Prudy  will  be  '  Drop 
of  Honey,'  and  Flossy  ?  Young  Beauty,'  and 
Dotty  f  Summer  Moon,'  and  I  '  Onno.' " 

"  '  Young  Beauty '  's  the  prettiest,"  said 
Dotty ;  "  if  I  can't  play  that,  I'd  rather  stay 
with  niy  birdie,  and  not  play." 

«  Why,"  cried  Susy,  "  how  foo  — ;  "  but 
catching  Prudy's  eye,  she  added,  "  you  may 


PLAYIW   HINDOO.  59 

as  well  be  Young  Beauty ;  Flossy  wouldn't 
mind.  But  now  I  think  of  it,  Prudy,  we 
can't  play  school,  for  girls  don't  go  to  school 
in  India." 

"Make  believe  you  are  boys,  then,"  ob 
served  Johnny,  whose  interest  in  the  game 
had  flagged  since  he  knew  that  Hindoos 
were  not  sharks. 

"  We'll  play  it's  six  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing,"  continued  Susy. 

"That  isn't  school  time,"  remonstrated 
Dotty. 

w  O,  yes,  it  is,  in  India.  I'm  the  teacher. 
Give  me  a  stick,  please." 

"Here's  my  old  riding-whip,"  said  Flossy, 
producing  it  from  the  wood-box.  Things 
were  tucked  away  in  very  queer  places  at 
Mrs.  Eastman's. 

Susy  tied  a  string  about  her  waist  for 
a  girdle,  stuck  the  whip  into  it,  and  be- 


60  DOTTY    DIMPLE  AT   HOME. 

gau  to  march  the  floor  with  great  dig 
nity. 

"Now  school  has  begun.  You  must  all 
come  in,  and  bow  'way  down  to  the  ground, 
and  say,  r  O,  respected  teacher,  grant  us 
knowledge.'  They  are  very  polite  in  India. 
—  All  but  Prudy,  she  may  stay  behind  and 
play  truant." 

The  three  pupils  came  forward,  touched 
their  foreheads  to  the  floor,  and  repeated 
the  sentence  as  directed,  Johnny  rendering 
it,— 

"O,  respectful  Susy  Parlin,  don't  you 
whip  me  !  "  —  at  the  same  time  turning  a 
somerset. 

"  I  forgot  one  thing,"  said  the  teacher,  as 
her  obedient  pupils  stood  upright  again, 
with  flushed  faces.  "You  ought  to  have 
brought  me  a  present,  every  one  of  you, 
such  as  a  fig  of  tobacco  rolled  up  in  a  banana 
leaf,  or  —  " 


PLAYING    HINDOO.  61 

"  We  didn't  know  you  chewed,"  said  Flor 
ence,  laughing. 

"Now  you  take  your  seats.  No,  not 
there  !  On  the  floor !  What  do  you  sup 
pose?  You're  in  India,  children.  There 
are  mats  on  the  floor  (we'll  pretend)." 

The  children  seated  themselves. 

"O,  we  ought  to  say  a  prayer  to  the 
Muse  ;  but  I  can't  remember  what  it  is.  No 
matter.  Multiplication  Table  comes  next. 
Mother  says  it's  just  the  same  thing  in  India 
that  it  is  in  America." 

The  school  repeated  part  of  the  table, 
making  very  absurd  mistakes  intentionally. 
Susy  walked  the  floor  like  a  general.  "  An- 
geline,  please  look  up  some  more  palm-leaf 
fans,  and  some  splinters  of  wood." 

Angelina  was  the  soul  of  good  nature,  and 
left  her  baking  to  hunt  in  the  meal-room  for 
the  fans. 


62  DOTTY  DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"  A  pretty  kind  of  school !  "  growled  John 
ny.  "Don't  they  do  anything  out  there  in 
Hindoo  but  just  fan  themselves?  " 

"O,  we  pretend  these  fans  are  green,  just 
off  the  trees.  We  are  studying  arithmetic, 
all  so  fast,  and  ciphering  on  these  leaves 
with  reeds  —  (that's  our  splinters) .  In 
dian  boys  don't  know  what  slates  are.  They 
think  these  leaves  are  good  enough.  They 
come  off  of  the  tallest  palm  trees.  Fans 
don't  grow  in  this  country.  Where  did  you 
ever  see  a  leaf  as  broad  as  this  ?  " 

"Poh,  plenty  of  'em  in  Kennebec  Coun 
ty  !  "  said  Johnny,  confidently. 

"Now,"  said  the  teacher,  after  a  few  mo 
ments  of  mock  arithmetic,  "  now  I've  looked 
at  my  watch,  and  find  it's  seven  o'clock. 
How  conscionable  late  !  And  that  Drop  of 
Honey  hasn't  come  to  school  yet !  Joggo, 
you  and  Young  Beauty  go  and  bring  her  1  " 


*  PLAYING   HINDOO.  63 

Prudy,  who  was  sitting  at  a  little  distance, 
under  a  swing-table,  eating  ginger  snaps, 
was  suddenly  seized  upon  by  the  two  little 
Indian  constables. 

"  Why,  what  an  idea  !  "  said  Prudy,  with 
her  mouth  full ;  "  I  didn't  know  that  was  the 
way  to  play  it." 

"Yes,"  said  Susy,  "truants  must  come  to 
school.  If  they  don't  come  they  must  be 
arrested." 

"  Why,  I've  been  arresting  all  the  time," 
said  Prudy,  laughing. 

"Well,  that  doesn't  make  any  difference, 
Miss  Honey  Drop,"  said  Johnny,  taking  her 
by  the  shoulders,  while  Dotty  dragged  her 
feet.  There  was  great  laughing  and  scram 
bling,  during  which  Prudy  swallowed  a 
crumb  the  wrong  way,  and  was  finally  car 
ried  into  school  on  a  litter. 

"Now,  I  should  judge,"  said  the  heartless 


64  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME.  • 

teacher,  looking  sternly  at  the  crimson-faced 
victim,  "I  should  judge  that  this  wicked 
creature  ought  to  have  a  terrific  whipping  !  " 

"  That's  so  !  "  shouted  Johnny  ;  "  we  found 
Honey  Drop  top  of  a  house,  firing  mud  into 
a  man's  eyes." 

"Yes,  so  we  did,"  said  Dotty,  fully  re 
stored  to  good  humor,  "  black  mud  ;  Honey's 
a  bad  Nindian.  If  you  can't  whip  her  hard 
enough,  Joggie  will  help." 

"There,  now!"  said  the  teacher,  aftei 
dealing  several  "  love-pats  "  with  great  pre 
tended  force ;  "  now  I  should  think  'twas 
time  for  school  to  be  out.  As  you  go  by 
me,  each  of  you,  I  must  strike  you  just  as 
many  times  as  you  were  minutes  late.  NW 
go  home,  and  eat  rice  for  your  dinners." 

"Well,  I  don't  think  it's  much  of  a  play, 
any  way,"  said  Johnny. 

"Who  said  it  was?"   retorted  Florence. 


PLAYING   HINDOO.  65 

"  Susy  and  I  didn't  want  to  come  down ;  we 
did  it  just  to  please  you." 

"  Please  me  I "  sniffed  Johnny.  "J  wanted 
to  play  poison,  out  in  the  yard ! " 

"  I  do  wish,"  thought  Susy,  privately, 
"  that  cousin  Flossy  would  be  more  polite 
to  little  Johnny.  I  really  think  he  wouldn't 
be  so  rude  if  she  would  treat  him  as  a  lady 
should." 

"There's  another  play  we  used  to  have," 
said  Prudy,  "where  you  sit  round  on  the 
floor,  right  among  the  dishes,  and  eat  your 
supper." 

"  Well,  I  declare  for  it,"  said  Angelina, 
"  those  people  off  there  do  need  missionaries 
more  than  ever  I  thought  they  did." 

"Yes,"  replied  Susy,  "  they  tell  such  horr 

rid   stories   to    their  little    children.       The 

children  don't  dare  go  out  after  dark,  for 

they  suppose   there  are  demons  up  in  the 

5 


66  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

high  trees,  just  ready  to  dart  down  and  whisk 
them  off." 

"  Angeline  tells  just  such  stories  her  own 
self,"  said  Dotty. 

"  Then  she's  a  heathen,"  said  Florence, 
who  usually  spoke  the  first  thought  that 
came  into  her  head. 

"If  that's  the  case,"  retorted  Angeline, 
with  dignity,  "you'd  better  all  walk  out  of 
this  kitchen  before  you  are  entirely  ruined." 

As  Angeliue  was  evidently  in  earnest,  the 
children  slowly  took  their  way  into  the  din 
ing-room. 

"Are  there  real  live  ghosts,  though,  Su 
sy?"  asked  Dotty,  anxiously;  "and  if  a 
bird  comes  to  the  window  will  you  die  ? " 

"Why,  no,  indeed,  child!  Mother  told 
me  once,  when  I  was  right  little,  that  I 
mustn't  let  people  tell  me  such  foolish 


PLAYING   HINDOO.  67 

stories.     If  Angeline  talks   so  to  you,  you 
must  stop  your  ears.     Now,  remember !  " 

Dotty  remembered ;  but  she  was  not  quite 
convinced.  Those  awful  stories  might  be 
true,  after  all;  perhaps  Susy  didn't  know. 


DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 


CHAPTER   V, 

RUNNING   WILD. 

You  begin  to  see  how  the  children  were 
running  wild  at  Mrs.  Eastman's.  One 
morning  Dotty  climbed  the  hat-tree  to 
get  away  from  her  cousin  Percy. 

"Don't  believe  'cousin  Dimple'  knows  a 
hat-tree  wasn't  made  for  little  girls  to  sit 
on,"  said  Percy. 

"No,  'twas  made  to  swing  on,"  replied 
Dotty,  tilting  herself  backward  and  forward 
like  a  bird  on  a  bough.  "I'm  going  to  stay 
here  till  somebody  carries  me  off  pick 
aback." 

Percy,  having  nothing  better  to  do,  took 


RUNNING   WILD.  69 

his  little  cousin  on  his  shoulders,  danced 
her  about  the  hall  and  through  the  house, 
and  finally  tossed  her  backward  into  a  pile 
of  shavings.  Dotty  sprang  up,  shook  off 
the  shavings,  and  ran  after  Percy,  laugh 
ing  so  boisterously  that  Angeline  said  to 
the  chambermaid,  — 

"  I  know  of  one  person  that  will  be  glad 
when  Mrs.  Parlin  gets  back." 

"And  I  know  of  another,"  replied  Janey. 
"The  child  behaved  like  a  lady  when  she 
first  came ;  but  what  can  you  expect  in 
this  house  with  those  boys  ?  " 

"How's  that  bird?"  said  Percy,  as  he 
and  Dotty  raced  through  the  kitchen. 
"  Can  he  stand  on  both  legs  yet  ? " 

"Yes,  indeed!  He  could  stand  on  three 
legs  if  he  had  'em.  He's  most  well  —  I 
must  go  and  'tend  to  him." — ("I  won 
der  what's  going  to  happen  that's  bad," 


70  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT    HOME. 

thought  she,  as  she  fed  the  bird  in  her 
own  chamber  with  cream  biscuit.  "  I  hope 
it  isn't  a  fire!")— "Why,  Johnny  East 
man,  I  shouldn't  think  your  mamma 'd  let 
you  scream  so  loud  !  " 

"Then  you  must  hear  the  first  time. 
Come,  let's  go  out  and  have  some  fun; 
mother's  gone  to  Cumberland." 

As  if  Johnny  did  not  have  fun  all  day, 
and  every  day,  whether  his  mother  was  at 
home  or  abroad ! 

"Prudy,"  said  Dotty,  "good  by,  for 
Johnny  V  I  are  going  down  to  the  beach 
to  get  some  shells." 

Prudy  looked  up  from  her  writing. 

"  Don't  go  near  the  water,"  said  she  ;  then 
throwing  her  arms  about  her  little  sister, 
she  sang,  — 

"  If  you  love   me  as   I  love  you, 
No  knife   shall  cut  our  love  in  two." 


RUNNING   WILD.  71 

"Well,  I  do,"  replied  Dotty,  with  an 
affectionate  hug,  "and  I  sha'n't  go  near 
the  water." 

"You  won't  forget?"  said  Prudy,  anx 
iously.  "You  know  mamma's  as  afraid  of 
the  water  as  she  can  be." 

"What  are  you  after?"  cried  Angeline, 
half  a  minute  afterwards.  "Of  all  the 
rummaging  children ! "  At  the  same  time 
she  gave  Dotty  a  nice  cake  wrarm  from 
the  oven. 

"I'm  looking  for  my  hat,"  said  the  little 
girl,  shutting  the  sink  door.  "Last  time 
I  saw  it  'twas  in  a  barrel  somewhere." 

But  it  happened  to  be  in  a  hogshead. 

"  I  think  this  is  a  real  nice  sort  of  world," 
thought  Dotty,  as  she  and  Johnny  trudged 
off  in  the  pleasant  sunshine.  "I  do  think, 
just  to  myself — though  I  wouldn't  say  it 


72  DOTTY  DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

out  loud  —  that  I'm  as  nice  as  anybody.  I 
don't  know  what  Prudy'd  do  'thout  me; 
and  I  guess  Susy  'd  cry  her  eyes  out ! " 

"What  you  thinking  about  ?"  said 
Johnny. 

"O,  'bout  a  good  many  things!  Let's 
run ;  it  tires  me  to  pieces  to  walk ! " 

"Look!"  cried  Johnny,  "there's  Man 
doline  !  " 

And  such  a  pretty  sight  as  bareheaded 
Mandoline  presented !  She  was  a  little 
Jewess,  with  such  beauty,  perhaps,  as  that 
of  the  women  we  read  about  in  the  Bible. 
She  had  dark,  wavy  hair,  like  sea-foam 
with  ink  tipped  over  in  it.  Her  eyes  were 
like  gems ;  there  was  a  brilliant  color  in 
her  cheeks,  and  her  mouth  was  so  sweet 
that 

"  Upon  her  lip   the  honey  bee 
Might  build  her  waxen  throne." 


RUNNING   WILD.  73 

Dotty  did  not  know  why  she  liked  Man 
doline  so  well,  but  like  her  she  did.  Mrs. 
Parlin  was  afraid  Mandoline  had  not  been 
taught  to  respect  the  truth,  and  had  often 
desired  her  little  daughter  not  to  play  with 
the  beautiful  Jewess. 

But  "  Lina "  went  to  Mrs.  Eastman's,  and 
Mrs.  Eastman  petted  her.  Dotty  thought 
it  could  not  be  wrong  to  associate  with  a 
little  girl  her  auntie  liked  so  well. 

"Come  with  us,  Lina,"  said  Johnny. 

"Where  are  you  going?" 

"Going  to  make  a  Bunger  Hill  Monue- 
ment,"  replied  Dotty.  "We  know  where 
the  shells  grow  real  thick." 

"  But  I've  lost  my  shaker.  A  dog's  got  it." 

"O,  no  matter,  you  don't  care,"  said 
Dotty,  in  a  grandmotherly  tone,  "for  / 
won't  let  anybody  laugh  at  you." 


74  DOTTY    DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

Lina  yielded.  The  three  children  tripped 
along  together,  taking  up  Freddy  Jackson 
on  the  way  —  a  deaf  and  dumb  boy,  who 
only  knew  when  it  thundered  by  the  jar 
he  could  feel.  Everybody  was  kind  to 
Freddy.  Dotty  Dimple,  with  all  her 
faults,  was  never  known  to  be  impa 
tient  with  the  poor  boy. 

The  children  reached  the  sea-shore,  which 
was  somewhere  "near  the  water,"  though 
Dotty  had  assured  Prudy  to  the  contrary. 
Shell-gathering  is  more  exciting  work  than 
picking  strawberries  in  the  country;  for 
strawberries  are  all  very  much  alike, 
whereas  shells  present  some  variety. 

But  in  this  instance  it  was  very  dull 
business,  for  the  reason  that  there  were  no 
shells  to  be  found.  They  had  all  become 
weary  of  groping  about  in  the  sand,  when 


RUNNING   WILD.  75 

Johnny  looked  at  the  bay,  and  observed 
a  boy  coming  towards  them,  rowing  a  boat. 

"Hilloa,  there!"  shouted  the  boy. 

"Hilloa!"  responded  Johnny.  "If  that 
isn't  Sol  Kosenberg ! "  (This  was  Mando 
line's  brother.)  "Where  you  going, 
Sol?" 

"Nowhere  particular.  Get  in  and  go 
too?" 

"Yes,"  said  Johnny,  "Fred  Jackson  and 
'I.  Fred  can  steer  as  straight's  a  needle. 
I'll  paddle,  you  know." 

"Girls  too,"  added  Solomon,  gallantly. 

With  one  accord  the  children  walked 
eagerly  towards  the  boat,  which,  by  this 
time,  Solomon  had  moored  against  the 
beach.  All  but  Dotty. 

"  Are  you  old  enough,  Solly  Kosenberg, 
old  enough  and  know  enough  not  to  drown 
us  all  to  pieces?" 


76  DOTTY  DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

Young  Solomon  laughed. 

"If  I  can't  manage  a  small  concern  like 
this !  " 

"But  four,  and  one  more,  make  five, 
Solly !  " 

"  You  don't  say  so  !  Well,  I  could  carry 
sixteen,  if  they  were  all  such  little  snips 
as  you  are  !  " 

"Dot  Parlin  thinks  she  weighs  as  much 
as  two  tons,"  said  Johnny,  in  an  irritating 
tone. 

"Tin  dreadful  'fraid,"  murmured  the  little 
Jewess,  shaking  the  wayward  hair  out  of 
her  magnificent  eyes ;  "  but  111  go  if  you 
will,  Dotty  Dimple." 

Dotty  shoved  her  feet  into  the  sand  and 
reflected. 

"  My  mamma  is  afraid  of  the  water ;  but 
then  she  was  upset  in  a  scursion,  and  that's 
why  she's  afraid." 


RUNNING   WILD.  77 

"What  kind  of  thing  is  a  scursion?" 
asked  Johnny. 

"A  Sabbath  school  picnic.  And  she 
wasn't  upset  either,  only  she  'xpected  to 
be." 

"  Come  on  !  "  called  Solly.    «  All  aboard  !  " 

"  But  my  mamma  said  it  wasn't  safe  ! " 

"No,  she  didn't.  She  never  saw  this 
boat;  she  doesn't  know  whether  it's  safe 
or  not." 

"Doesn't  it  leak  a  single  speck,  Solly 
Rosenberg?  It  looks  wet." 

"  Pshaw !  That's  where  the  waves  come 
in;  it's  as  tight  as  the  bark  to  a  tree." 

Dotty  was  becoming  very  eager  to  go. 
It  sometimes  did  seem,  when  she  really 
wished  to  do  any  particular  thing,  that 
she  wished  it  more  than  any  one  else. 

"  But,  O  dear !  my  mamma  doesn't  low 
me  to  sail." 


78  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

This  was  spoken  sorrowfully ;  but  there 
was  a  little  wavering  in  the  tone.  Dotty 
had  taken  the  first  false  step ;  she  had  lis 
tened  to  the  voice  of  temptation,  and  every 
persuasive  word  of  Solly's  left  her  weaker 
than  it  had  found  her. 

"My  mamma  doesn't  ever  'low  me  to 
sail." 

"You  couldn't  sail  in  a  wherry  if  you 
were  to  try,"  said  Johnny.  "Come,  Sol, 
don't  stop  to  bother :  who  wants  girls  ? 
They  just  spoil  the  fun." 

"  For  shame  !  "  said  the  more  polite  Solo 
mon,  drawing  himself  up  and  looking  very 
manly;  "the  girls  shall  go  if  they  want  to. 
Only  just  round  the  curve." 

Dotty  liked  Solly  at  that  moment  very 
much.  She  looked  at  her  ill-mannered 
little  cousin  with  royal  disdain,  and  walked 


RUNNING   WILD.  79 

slowly  and  cautiously  on  towards  the  boat. 
Lina  followed  at  a  little  distance.  Her 
mother  had  also  forbidden  her  to  go  on 
the  water,  and  had  declared  that  Solomon 
was  too  young  to  manage  a  boat;  but 
neither  Lina  nor  her  brother  had  very  ten 
der  consciences.  If  they  did  wrong  things, 
and  nobody  knew  it,  it  was  all  very  well ; 
but  if  they  were  found  out  —  ah  !  then  was 
the  time  to  be  sorry !  Dotty's  conscience 
had  been  much  better  educated  than  theirs  : 
it  gave  her  plenty  of  warning,  which  she 
would  not  heed,  and  tried  to  stifle  by 
talking. 

"It  isn't  a  sail  boat.  When  my  mamma 
went  in  the  scursion,  then  it  was  a  sail 
boat,  and  the  wind  whistled  so  the  sails 
shook  dreadfully.  My  mamma  never  talked 
to  me  about  wherries ;  she  didn't  ever  say 
I  mustn't  go  in  a  wherry." 


80  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

While  Dotty  was  still  talking,  she  entered 
the  boat,  the  last  of  the  five.  She  seated 
herself,  but  was  annoyed  to  find  her  dainty 
gaiters  sinking  into  a  pool  of  dirty  water. 
She  lifted  her  feet,  but  could  not  keep  them 
up.  Well,  perhaps  she  shouldn't  have  the 
sore  throat  after  all;  she  couldn't  help  it 
now  if  she  did  have  it.  At  any  rate  she 
was  determined  not  to  complain,  when 
Solly  had  been  so  very  polite. 

"  Isn't  this  prime  ?  "  said  Johnny,  as  they 
launched  out  upon  the  water. 

The  motion  was  certainly  pleasant,  and 
for  a  few  moments  Dotty  was  quite  de 
lighted,  thinking  over  and  over  again,  — 

"Mamma  won't  care;  it's  nothing  but  a 
wherry,  and  the  wind  doesn't  blow." 

Then  she  suddenly  remembered  her  prom 
ise  to  Prudy,  not  to  go  "  anywhere  near  the 
water." 


RUNNING  WILD.  81 

"  And  I  never  thought  I  should.  I  never 
s'posed  I  should  see  Solly  Rosenberg. 
I  didn't  know  he  was  in  this  city.  Prudy  'd 
like  it  just  as  well  as  I  do,  if  she  was  in 
here,  and  knew  'twas  a  wherry." 


6 


82  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

HOW   IT   ENDED. 

YES,  no  doubt  Prudy  would  have  liked  it 
if  her  mother  had  approved;  for  then  she 
could  have  gone  with  a  clear  conscience, 
and  also  without  fear.  But  Prudy  had  suf 
fered  in  her  short  life  a  great  deal  of  what 
we  call  "discipline,"  and  had  learned  pretty 
thoroughly  the  lesson  of  obedience.  She 
knew  it  is  never  of  the  least  use  for  little 
girls,  or  any  one  else,  to  expect  to  be  happy 
in  the  wrong  way. 

"  Straight  is  the  line  of  duty, 
Curved  is  the  line  of  beauty ; 
Follow  one,  and  thou  shalt  see 
The  other  ever  following  thee." 


HOW    IT   ENDED.  83 

This  means,  when  put  into  child's  English, 
that  if  we  try  above  everything  else  to  have 
a  good  time,  we  never  have  it ;  but  if  we  try 
first  of  all  to  do  right,  then  the  good  time 
will  come  of  itself.  Dotty  certainly  had  not 
tried  to  do  right :  now  we  will  see  if  that 
beautiful  "  curved  line "  of  happiness  fol 
lowed  her. 

She  was  very  young,  or  she  would  have 
known  better  than  to  trust  herself  on  the 
ocean  with  a  little  boy  like  Solly  Kosenberg, 
even  if  her  mother  had  not  forbidden  it :  but 
Dotty  was  rash ;  her  bold  spirit  never  feared 
danger. 

If  she,  or  any  of  the  rest  of  the  party, 
had  only  looked  at  the  sky !  But  if  they 
had,  I  dare  say  they  would  have  made  noth 
ing  of  it.  There  were  clouds  scudding 
about  up  there  like  shadowy  sail-boats,  and 
the  sun  had  to  fight  his  way  through  them, 


84  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

till  by  and  by  he  gave  it  up  entirely,  and 
never  so  much  as  peeped  out.  By  that  time 
it  was  decidedly  bad  weather ;  the  light  had 
to  be  sifted  through  heavy  gray  curtains. 

This  made  such  a  difference  with  the  ap 
pearance  of  everything  !  The  world,  which 
had  looked,  an  hour  ago,  so  gay  and  light- 
hearted,  was  now  rather  gloomy.  The 
waves,  instead  of  sparkling,  only  foamed 
and  bubbled ;  indeed  they  grew  larger  every 
moment,  for  the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale. 
The  white  sea-gulls  hovered  over  the  bay, 
flapping  their  wings ;  and  Dotty  had  never 
liked  sea-gulls.  She  began  to  grow  a  very 
little  uneasy. 

"It  was  naughty  for  us  to  come,"  thought 
she,  anxious  to  divide  the  sin  with  her  com 
panions  ;  "  we  ought  to  have  minded  our 
mothers." 

If  the  sky  had  continued  fair,  it  may  be 


HOW   IT    ENDED.  85 

Dotty  would  not  have -felt  so  guilty,  though 
you  and  I  know  the  weather  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  sin;  disobedience  is  disobedi 
ence  always,  whether  it  rains  or  shines. 

The  little  Jewess  grew  very  pale,  said 
she  was  dizzy,  and  wished  to  change  places 
with  Dotty. 

"Keep  still,  can't  you,  girls?"  cried 
Johnny ;  "  if  you  fuss  round  so  the  boat  '11 
be  sure  to  upset." 

Johnny  looked  as  dignified  as  if  he  had 
navigated  ships  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
over  and  over  again ;  but  then,  alas !  his 
arms  were  so  little  !  I  suppose  his  paddle 
had  nearly  as  much  effect  as  if  it  had  been 
an  iron  spoon;  and  he  probably  knew  as 
much  about  boating  as  he  did  about  the  dead 
languages.  Solly  and  Freddy  were  several 
years  older,  and  ^considerably  wiser;  but 
the  wisdom  of  all  these  five  children,  if  it 


86        DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

had  been  compounded  together,  would  not 
have  amounted  to  the  wisdom  of  the  three 
wise  men  of  Gotham  who  went  to  sea  in  a 
bowl. 

"  O,  dear  !  "  screamed  Dotty. 

"O,  dear  !  dear  !  dear!  "  cried  Lina ;  "  the 
water  rolls  in  over  the  top!" 

"  Can't  you  steer  for  the  shore,  Solly 
Rosenbug?"  said  Dotty. 

:f  You  hadn't  oughter  made  us  come," 
sobbed  Lina. 

Johnny  joined  the  mournful  chorus. 

"  There  goes  my  hat !  You  were  in  pretty 
business  knocking  it  off  my  head,  Dot 
Dimple  !  " 

"I  never;  and  I  didn't  mean  to,"  replied 
Dotty,  too  much  subdued  to  retort  with  her 
usual  spirit, 

"Fish  it  out  with  the  paddle,"  remarked 
Solly,  coolly. 


HOW    IT    ENDED.  87 

This  was  intended  as  a  joke,  for  the  hat 
was  already  bounding  far,  far  away  over  the 
waste  of  waters.  Dotty  knew  she  should 
always  be  accused  of  losing  it,  though  in 
her  secret  soul  she  was  sure  the  wind  had 
blown  it  off.  But  a  new  hat,  as  we  all 
know,  is  a  mere  trifle  when  we  have  gone 
to  sea  in  a  bowl !  The  first  thing  we  think 
of  is  how  to  get  home. 

"Ahem!"  ejaculated  Solly,  at  last,  "if 
you  are  really  afraid,  Lina,  I  suppose  we'd 
better  go  ashore  !  " 

Lina  clapped  her  hands.  "  O,  do  !  do ! 
do!" 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  Dotty;  "and,  Solly, 
don't  you  bump  too  hard  against  the  shore, 
'cause  'twould  spill  us  out." 

It  was  very  easy  to  talk  about  touching 
the  shore  :  all  the  difficulty  lay  in  being  able 
to  do  it.  Not  that  it  was  so  very  distant ; 


68  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT    HOME. 

indeed,  it  was  in  full  sight,  "  so  near,  and 
yet  so  far ! "  If  the  wind  had  only  been 
quiet,  instead  of  "  cracking  its  cheeks !  " 
But,  as  it  was,  the  boat  rocked  fearfully, 
and  seemed  to  be  blowing  directly  away 
from  the  land. 

Solly  and  the  deaf  and  dumb  boy  looked  at 
each  other  with  eyes  which  seemed  to  say, — 

"  The  thing  is  coming  to  a  pretty  pass ! 
Only  you  and  I  to  manage  this  craft,  and 
we  neither  of  us  know  what  we  are  about ! 
But  we'll  keep  a  stiff  upper  lip,  and  make 
believe  we  do  !  " 

"Why,  Solly  Eosenbug ! "  said  Dotty, 
catching  her  breath,  "you're  going  just  the 
other  way !  " 

"  O,  Solly  Kosenberg,"  echoed  Lina, 
"  you're  going  the  wrong  way  !  There's  the 
shore,  off  there  !  " 

«  Well,  well,"  said  Solly,  his  "  stiff  upper 


HOW   IT   ENDED.  89 

lip  "  very  white,  "  we're  coming  round  to  it 
after  a  while  :  you  just  sit  still." 

"Yes,"  said  Johnny,  puffing  very  hard, 
and  churning  the  foam  with  his  paddle,  as 
if  he  were  whipping  eggs  with  a  beater, 
"yes,  girls,  we  shall  row  round  to  it  after 
a  while,  if  you'll  only  keep  still !  " 

I  dare  say  Johnny  thought  the  most  of 
this  commotion  was  made  by  his  paddle. 
He  was  quite  as  consequential,  in  his  way, 
as  the  fly  who  sat  on  a  wagon-wheel,  and 
said  to  the  wagon,  as  it  rattled  down  hill, 
"  What  a  noise  we  make  !  " 

"We  wouldn't  put  for  the  shore  at  all," 
continued  Johnny,  "if  it  wasn't  for  you 
girls." 

At  that  moment  a  remarkably  high  wave 
leaped  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  and  wet 
Johnny  to  the  skin. 

"  Just  enough  wind  to  make  it  pleasant ! " 
gasped  the  little  fellow. 


90  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"0,  dear!  O,  dear!  "  sighed  the  girls,  in 
despair. 

"  Ugh  !  how  my  arms  ache  !  "  groaned 
Johnny,  stopping  to  rub  them.  "Guess  I 
wouldn't  say  much  if  I  was  nothing  but  a 
girl,  and  didn't  have  to  paddle  !  " 

"  O,  you  needn't  fuss  with  that  paddle  any 
longer,  Johnny  Eastman,"  said  Solly,  who 
had  hitherto  paid  no  heed  to  the  little  boy's 
vigorous  but  useless  struggles ;  "  you  just 
drop  it;  it  doesn't  amount  to  anything." 

"What!  what!"  cried  Johnny,  looking 
very  much  insulted.  "  How  are  you  ever 
going  to  get  ashore  without  ME,  I'd  like  to 
know?" 

All  this  while  the  boys  were  growing 
crimson  in  the  face  from  the  gigantic  efforts 
they  made,  and  the  girls  very  pale  with 
fright.  Solly  kept  repeating,  — 

"  Don't   you   be    afraid,    girls !  "    but   his 


HOW   IT   ENDED.  91 

voice  faltered  as  he  said  it;  and  as  for 
Freddy  Jackson,  the  trembling  of  his  mute 
lips  was  as  eloquent  as  speech.  The  two 
boys  might  put  on  what  blustering  airs  they 
pleased  —  it  all  amounted  to  nothing ;  there 
was  more  power  in  the  wind  than  in  the 
muscles  of  their  small  arms.  The  boat 
would  not  go  near  the  shore  :  anywhere  else 
but  there.  The  sky  grew  more  and  more 
threatening,  and  the  wind  increased  in  force. 

"  We're  going  to  be  drow  —  drow  — 
drownded !  "  screamed  Dotty ;  "  and  I  told 
you  so  :  I  knew  it  before  !  O,  if  Susy  was 
here  with  a  shingle  ! " 

« We're  going  to  be  drownded !  "  cried 
Lina;  "and,  Solly  Rosenberg,  you  hadn't 
oughter  made  me  come  ! " 

"  And  you  told  an  awful,  wicked  story," 
struck  in  Dotty,  "for,  Solly  Rosenberg,  you 
said  you's  old  enough  to  row,  and  you're 


92  DOTTY    DIMPLE    AT    HOME. 

nowhere  near  old  enough ;  and,  O  !  O  !  O  ! 
you  don't  know  how.  And  I'll  tell  my 
father  !  And  he'll  never  know  where  I  am  ! 
And  my  mother's -gone  away  to  aunt  Maria 
Clifford's,  and  I'm  going  to  be  dead  when 
she  gets  back  !  And  you  won't  try  to  row  ! 
Susy  could  row  if  she  was  here,  and  had  a 
shingle.  But  Susy  isn't  here,  and  hasn't 
any  shingle  !  O  !  O  !  " 

All  these  sentences  Dotty  thrust  out,  one 
after  another,  having  little  idea  what  she 
said,  only  conscious  of  an  overwhelming 
terror  and  an  impulse  to  keep  talking. 

Suddenly  poor  Solly  Rosenberg  dropped 
his  oar,  exclaiming,  — 

"There,  it's  of  no  use  ;  my  arms  are  giving 
out !  " 

Freddy  Jackson  held  out  a  few  moments 
longer,  then  dropped  his  oar  also,  with  a 
look  of  utter  hopelessness. 


IN  THE  BOAT. 

Page  93. 


HOW   IT   ENDED.  93 

« Why  don't  you  keep  a  pullin',  boys  ?  " 
said  Johnny,  dipping  in  his  useless  little 
paddle. 

The  boat  whirled  about  like  an  egg-shell, 
completely  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves.  If 
your  papa  and  mamma  had  seen  it,  they 
would  have  said  there  was  the  last  of  Dotty 
Dimple.  But,  on  second  thought,  you  may 
be  sure  it  was  not  the  last  of  her ;  for  if  she 
was  going  to  be  drowned  in  the  sixth  chap 
ter,  I  should  never  have  written  this  book. 

It  was  a  wonderful  mercy  that  the  five 
rash  children  ivere  spared;  but  life  is  full 
of  just  such  mercies ;  and  of  course  I  knew 
all  the  while  what  was  coming,  or  I  could 
not  have  written  so  cheerfully. 

What  was   coming? 

"  I  see  something,"  shputed  Dotty,  w  ever 
so  far  off!  It  isn't  a  gull!" 

"  It's  a  sail !  a  sail !  "  cried  Solly,  and  took 
to  his  oars  a^ain. 


11  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

c:A  sail!  a  sail!"  thought  Freddy  Jack 
son,  though  he  "  could  not  say  it ;  and  he 
steered  once  more,  with  courage  renewed ; 
though,  as  to  that  matter,  it  would  have 
been  just  as  well  if  they  had  kept  still. 

By  the  time  the  sail-boat  came  up  to 
the  wherry,  the  children  were  thoroughly 
drenched  and  sobered.  A  more  subdued 
set  of  little  sailors  the  captain  had  never 
seen. 

"Well,  now,"  said  he,  patting  the  little 
girls  on  the  head,  "I  had  a  fine  lecture  made 
up  for  you  crazy  chickens ;  but  you  are  all 
so  meek,  that  I  reckon  Til  just  take  you 
on  board,  and  not  scold  you  till  I  get  you 
ashore." 

It  was  the  narrowest  escape !  and  they 
all  knew  it.  The  "foolish  chickens"  hid 
their  heads,  and  made  mental  resolves  that 
they  would  never,  never  venture  out  of 


HOW   IT  ENDED.  95 

sight  of  land  again  without  some  older  per 
son  to  take  care  of  them. 

"Don't  you  tell  my  father,  now/'  said 
Johnny  to  Dotty,  as  they  went  home,  drip 
ping  like  a  pair  of  sea-bathers. 

"  Nor  don't  you  tell  mine,  nor  Susy,  nor 
Prudy,  neither." 

"  We  shall  have  to  make  up  some  kind  of 
a  story,"  added  Johnny,  reflectively.  "  I 
don't  know  but  we  reached  over  too  far 
after  sea-shells,  didn't  we,  and  fell  into  the 
bay?  You  did  (say),  and  I  got  in  after 
you,  and  pulled  you  out  by  your  hair." 

"Why,  Johnny!" 

"Well,  then,  you  didn't;  /  fell  in,  and 
you  pulled  me  out  —  by  the  boots ;  only 
my  boots  would  have  come  off,  though, 
they're  so  big  !  " 

"  O,  Johnny  Eastman  !  " 

Dotty  had  stopped  short  in  the  road,  and 


96  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

was  looking  at  her  cousin  with  an  expression 
of  mingled  pity  and  scorn. 

"  Then  make  up  something  better  to  suit 
yourself." 

"I  don't  make  up  stories,  I  just  hope  I 
don't,"  returned  Dotty,  squeezing  the  skirt 
of  her  dress  indignantly. 

"  But,"  said  Johnny,  "  they'll  know  it 
wasn't  all  rain-water." 

"Then  I  shall  tell  the  whole,  whole  truth," 
exclaimed  Miss  Dimple,  setting  her  feet 
down  so  firmly  that  the  water  made  a  gur 
gling  noise  in  her  boots.  "I'll  tell  how 
you  boys  teased  us  girls  to  go." 

"O,  ho,  Dot  Dimple !  that's  as  much  of  a 
story  as  pulling  out  by  the  hair !  /  didn't 
want  you  to  go.  I  tried  to  stop  it." 

"Yes,  I  know  it,  and  that  was  why  I 
went,"  said  Dotty,  gravely !  "  I  wasn't 
going  to  have  you  say  I  mus'n't !  If 


HOW   IT   ENDED.  97 

you'd  been  willing,  I  shouldn't  have  gone  a 
step." 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  Mr.  East 
man's  gate. 

"  You  tell  if  you  dare !  "  said  Johnny. 
And,  after  that.  Dotty  never  thought  any 
longer  of  trying  to  conceal  a  single  item  of 
their  remarkable  adventure.  Since  Johnny 
had  dared  her,  she  would  certainly  tell. 
7 


98  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

TELLING   OF   IT. 

DOTTY  saw  her  father  through  the  win 
dow.  She  had  not  supposed  it  was  dinner 
time.  Her  head,  which  she  had  just  been 
tossing  so  proudly,  was  suddenly  lowered, 
and  she  entered  the  house  with  "  faint-footed 
fear,"  and  stole  noiselessly  up  stairs,  leaving 
wet  tracks  on  the  elegant  carpet.  She  did 
not  wish  to  meet  her  father  while  she  was 
in  such  a  plight. 

"O,  Prudy!"  she  called  out,  "something 
has  happened  ! " 

But  Prudy  was  not  within  hearing.  An- 
geline  had  given  her  permission  to  peel  the 
potatoes  for  dinner,  and  she  was  now  in 


TELLING    OF   IT.  9^ 

the  kitchen,  quite  unconscious  of  her  little 
sister's  forlorn  situation.  Hatless  Johnny 
had  crept  around  by  the  back  door,  and 
put  himself  under  the  care  of  Jane,  the 
chambermaid.  Janey  was  very  kind-heart 
ed,  and  withal  a  little  weak-minded.  She 
had  often  helped  Johnny  out  of  his  predic 
aments,  receiving  in  return  plenty  of  kisses 
and  sugar-plums. 

But  who  was  going  to  help  Dotty?  She 
did  not  know  where  to  look  for  dry  gar 
ments  ;  for,  since  her  mother  went  away, 
her  own  clothes,  and  those  of  her  two  sis 
ters,  had  been  tossed  together  in  sad  con 
fusion.  She  did  not  like  to  go  to  Susy, 
for  Susy  would  probably  scold  ;  and  Dotty, 
just  now,  was  so  uncomfortable,  and  her 
nerves  had  been  so  terribly  racked,  that  she 
thought  she  could  bear  anything  better 
than  to  be  blamed. 


100  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

w  O,  dear !  where  in  this  world  was 
Prudy?" 

She  fidgeted  about,  trying  to  find  she 
knew  not  what.  Then  she  remembered 
she  had  herself  locked  the  trunk,  to  hide 
away  some  almond  candy  from  the  other 
girls.  Where  she  had  put  the  key  she 
did  not  know. 

The  dinner-bell  rang,  and  still  Prudy  did 
not  appear. 

"I  believe  she  docs  it  to  purpose,"  thought 
Miss  Dimple,  pulling  out  the  bureau  drawers 
in  great  haste,  and  scattering  their  contents 
right  and  left. 

"Seem's  if  I  should  freeze,  but  I  don't 
s'pose  she  cares.  I  don't  want  any  dinner. 
If  Prudy  'd  bring  me  up  a  piece  of  pudding, 
I'd  eat  it;  but  she  won't,  nor  pie  either." 

By  this  time  Dotty  had  nearly  forgotten 
that  all  her  misery  was  the  result  of  her 


#  rJ^V^^r  i*J  101 

own  misconduct.  She  would  remember  it 
by  and  by  with  renewed  shame;  but,  just 
now,  she  had  somehow  shifted  the  blame 
upon  innocent  Prudy,  forgetting  that  that 
dear  little  sister  did  not  even  know  she 
was  in.  the  house. 

"And  I  sha'n't  eat  any  supper,"  continued 
the  shivering  Dotty.  "  I  wonder  how  many 
dinners  and  suppers  'twould  take  to  starve 
folks  to  death?  Prudy  said  she  loved  me; 
but  if  she  does,  why  don't  she  come  up 
here,  and  get  me  some  clean  clothes?" 

Meanwhile,  at  the  dinner-table  down 
stairs,  there  were  three  places  empty. 
Mrs.  Eastman  had  gone  to  Cumberland, 
and  Susy  told  her  father  that  Johnny  and 
Dotty  were  away  somewhere  at  play.  It 
was  such  a  careless  household,  and  the 
meals  were  so  irregular,  that  Mr.  Parlin 
had  several  times  missed  Dotty  at  table. 


102  J?©TTY  DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 


He  did  not  pay  any  more  attention  than 
usual  to  her  absence  to-day,  but  thought, 
with  a  feeling  of  relief,  — 

"Her  mother  will  soon  be  at  home,  and 
then  I  shall  feel  very  much  easier  about 
Alice  and  the  other  children." 

If  Mr.  Parlin  had  only  known  that  Dotty 
was  shivering  up  stairs  in  wet  clothes,  he 
might  not  have  lingered  so  long  over  his 
ice-cream.  As  it  was,  he  chatted  leisurely 
with  Mr.  Eastman,  put  on  his  hat,  and 
wralked  away,  saying  to  Susy,  in  a  low 
voice,  as  he  passed  her  in  the  hall,  — 

"  My  daughter,  while  I  am  so  busy,  and 
your  mother  is  gone,  I  wish  you  would  pay 
more  attention  to  your  little  sister  Alice. 
I  am  really  afraid  she  is  running  wild/'' 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Susy,  with  a  swift 
pang  of  conscience  ;  for  she  now  recollected 
that  it  was  seldom  she  even  knew  where 


TELLING   OF   IT.  103 

Dotty  was,  her  mind  being  wholly  absorbed 
by  play  and  fancy-work. 

At  this  moment  Johnny  appeared,  fresh 
from  a  bath,  and  dressed  in  a  clean  suit. 

"Where  is  Dotty?"  asked  Susy,  rather 
surprised  by  Johnny's  tidy  array. 

"Dot?  O,  she's  in  the  house  some 
where.  She  came  home  when  I  did." 

Johnny  spoke  very  carelessly.  He  was 
anxious  that  no  one  should  suppose  any 
thing  unusual  had  occurred. 

Susy  and  Prudy  went  up  stairs  in  search 
of  their  missing  sister.  They  found  her  in 
her  own  room,  sitting  down  disconsolately 
in  the  middle  of  the  floor. 

"Why,  Dotty  Dimple,  where  have  you 
been?  How  did  you  get  so  wet?" 

No  answer. 

"Have  you  been  trying  to  swim?" 
laughed  Prudy,  going  up  and  stroking 
her  forehead. 


104       DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

"Prudy  Parlin,  why  didn't  you  come  up 
here  before?"  was  the  sudden  response. 
"I  called  you  and  called  you.  —  Where 'd 
you  put  my  clo'es?" 

"  Why,  Dotty,  dear,  I  didn't  know  you 
were  in  the  house ;  and  I  never  touched 
your  clothes." 

"Yes,  you  did.  I  can't  find  the  key. 
I'm  going  to  freeze.  You  don't  care.  You 
never  brought  me  a  speck  of  pudding.  I'm 
sick,  and  going  to  have  the  sore  throat.  I 
wouldn't  eat  it  now  if  the  mayor  was  right 
in  this  room  —  so  there  !  " 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  dreariness  of 
Dotty's  tone.  Susy,  though  by  no  means 
unfeeling,  could  scarcely  refrain  from  laugh 
ing  at  the  child's  unreasonableness ;  but 
Prudy,  who  "was  exceeding  wise"  in  lead 
ing  the  heart,  knew  that  Dotty's  anger  was 
not  very  real ;  that  it  was  partly  assumed  to 


TELLING   OF   IT.  105 

hide  her  wretchedness.  Therefore  patient 
Prudy  resolved  to  bear  with  the  sharp 
words,  believing  Dottj^  would  be  pleasant 
by  and  by,  when  she  felt  comfortable. 

After  some  delay  in  hunting,  she  and 
Susy  dressed  the  child  in  fresh  clothes. 
Then  Dotty  consented  to  eat  a  little  din 
ner,  and  go  into  her  grandma  Kead's  room, 
to  sit  on  the  lounge. 

"This  little  girl  doesn't  look  well,"  said 
grandma  Eead,  the  first  moment;  "her 
cheeks  are  altogether  too  red.  Where 
has  thee  been  to-day,  Alice  ? " 

"Been  down  to  the  beach,  picking  shells, 
grandma,"  replied  Dotty,  looking  hard  at 
the  carpet. 

"O,  where  are  the  shells?"  said  Prudy. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know;  I  didn't  find 
any.  I  didn't  come  back  the  same  way  I 
went,"  replied  Dotty,  twirling  her  favorite 
lock  of  hair  over  her  finger. 


106  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"Didn't  come  back  the  same  way?" 

"No,  I  went  wherrying." 

"  Wherrying?  "  repeated  Prudy. 

"Yes,  that's  what  I  said." 

"Prudence,  what  does  thee  suppose  the 
child  means  ?"  said  grandma  Read,  taking 
off  her  spectacles,  and  fixing  her  kind  eyes 
steadily  upon  Dotty  Dimple. 

"  Wherrying  in  a  wherry,"  answered 
Dotty,  dryly. 

"Does  thee  mean  in  a  boat?" 

"Why  no,  grandma.  It  looks  like  a  boat, 
but  it  isn't;  it's  a  wherry." 

"Who  allowed  thee  to  go  on  the 
water?" 

"Nobody." 

"Did  thee  think  thee  was  doing  right?" 

"No  ?m." 

"Who  rowed  the  boat?" 

"  Some  boys  —  two  —  and  Johnny,  grand- 


TELLING   OF   IT.  107 

"Hasn't  thy  mother  told  thee  not  to  go 
on  the  water?" 

"  She  said  I  mus'n't  sail,  and  I  never.  I 
wherried." 

"Why,  Dotty  Parlin,"  said  Pnidy,  "you'll 
scare  me  so  I'll  never  get  my  breath  again  ! 
You  didn't  go  off  on  that  bay  with  some 
boys?" 

"Yes,  I  did,"  replied  Dotty,  trying  to 
look  defiant.  "  You  wouldn't  have  dared 
to,  Prudy." 

"Thee  may  get  in  my  lap,  Alice,  and 
tell  me  all  about  it,"  said  grandma  Read, 
laying  down  her  knitting-work. 

Dotty  curled  herself  into  a  little  heap  in 
her  grandmother's  arms. 

"My  head  aches,"  said  she,  "and  I  love 
to  lay  it  against  your  soft  kerjif." 

"Well,  dear,  so  thee  may.  Now,  tell 
me  what  made  thee  go  on  the  water  ?" 


108      DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

"'Cause,  'cause,  grandma,  Solly  Rosen- 
bug  asked  rne  to  go,  and  Johnny  tried  to 
make  me  not  go.  I  asked  Solly  was  he  old 
enough,  and  knew  enough,  and  he  said  he 
did;  but  he  didn't  any  such  thing.  And 
grandma,  there  it  was,  right  in  the  middle 
of  the  solid  water  !  And  began  to  spin  and 
dance  round.  We  couldn't  stop  it  from 
dancing;  the  more  we  held  on,  the  quicker 
it  went.  Way  up  and  down,  grandma,  and 
the  rain  raining,  and  our  feet  all  sopping, 
and  pouring  right  into  that  wherry  like  a 
—  a  catara-duct.  They  were  all  afraid 
but  me,  and  I  was  awful  afraid  too.  You 
see  I  thought  we  should  tip  right  over,  and 
I  didn't  want  to  be  drowned,  and  couldn't 
swim/' 

"Why,  Dotty,  how  you  make  me  trem 
ble  ! "  cried  Prudy. 

"  The   way  Johnny  paddled  ! "   continued 


TELLING   OF   IT.  109 

Dotty,  triumphantly.  "Solly  said  he 
couldn't.  I  could  have  paddled  better, 
only  I  didn't  dare  to." 

"  You  paddle  !  " 

"No,  I  didn't.  The  wind  blew  me  so  I 
couldn't ;  'twas  much  ?s  ever  I  kept  in  the 
wherry.  I  had  to  hold  on  to  Lina,  too ; 
she  wTas  just  as  'fraid  ! " 

Here  grandma  Read  pressed  Dotty  close 
to  her  heart,  as  if  she  wished  to  make  sure 
the  child  was  really  alive. 

" '  He  gave  his  angels  charge  concerning 
thee,'"  murmured  she.  "Tell  me,  child, 
how  thee  ever  got  to  the  shore." 

"O,  the  captain  took  us  in  a  sail-boat! 
v  He  called  us  crazy  chickens,  but  said  he 
didn't  scold.  I  was  the  first  one  that  saw 
the  sail ;  and  then  Solly  rowed  us  to  it,  and 
it  took  us  in,  just  as  wet  as  ever  was. 
Johnny  lost  that  paddle.  So  we  got  home  ; 
and,  O,  how  my  head  aches ! " 


110  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"What  a  strange,  strange  child  to  tell  a 
story ! "  said  grandma  Read,  shaking  her 
head.  "But  I've  seen  thee  before.  I  un 
derstand  thy  odd  ways.  Thee  is  deeply 
ashamed  of  such  wicked  conduct — that  I  am 
very  sure.  Thee  must  be  aware,  Alice, 
that  it  is  only  by  the  Lord's  mercy  thee  is 
safe  on  dry  land,  instead  of  being  drowned 
in  the  depths  of  the  sea." 

Dotty  shuddered,  and  curled  her  crimson 
face  more  closely  against  the  white  ker 
chief. 

"But  I  will   not   chide   thee   now.     Thy 
mother  will  do  what   is   right   and  proper 
when    she    comes   home.      But    now    thee 
must  have  a  bowl   of  ginger  tea,   and  go^ 
straight  to  bed." 

Dotty  made  no  objection.  Indeed  she 
was  glad  to  find  herself  tucked  warmly 
under  blankets  and  coverlets,  for  she 


TELLING   OF   IT.  Ill 

was  still  chilly,  and  her  head  grew 
worse  continually.  It  was  also  a  great 
relief  to  her  that  she  had  told  the  whole 
story.  She  knew  her  father  would  be 
sorely  displeased;  but  he  had  never  pun 
ished  her  iu  his  life,  and  it  was  not  likely 
he  would  do  it  now,  while  her  head  ached 
so  dreadfully. 

She  wasn't  going  to  tell  anybody  how 
sorry  she  was ;  but  she  had  made  up  her 
mind  to  this  —  that  she  would  never  look  at 
salt  water  again  as  long  as  she  lived. 


112  DOTTY   DIMPLE   Al    tfOME. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

MAMMA   AND    "LITTLE    ME." 

"O,  DEAR!"  thought  Dotty,  as  she  lay 
through  the  long  afternoon,  wakeful  and 
feverish,  "I  should  think  there  was  a  drum 
inside  o'  my  head,  and  somebody  was 
pounding  on  it, — tummy,  turn,  turn." 

Grandma  had  said  it  was  best  to  leave  her 
alone,  in  the  hope  that  she  might  fall  asleep. 
But  the  sleep  would  not  come,  though 
dreams  did,  one  after  another,  like  pictures 
in  a  panorama. 

When  she  shut  her  eyes,  she  could  see  a 
little  red  boat  rocking  on  the  water  like  a 
cradle ;  then  a  great  wave  would  dash 
against  it,  and  turn  it  over,  with  all  its  pas- 


MAMMA   AND   LITTLE   ME.  113 

sengers.  The  screaming  sea-gulls  seemed 
to  be  looking  far  down  into  the  water  in 
search -of  the  sinking  children;  but  the 
children  could  not  look  up  to  see  the  gulls, 
for  their  c}7es  were  closed,  and  they  were 
"drowned  in  the  depths  of  the  sea." 

Dotty  tried  to  shut  out  these  horrid  pic 
tures.  If  her  dear  mamma  were  only  here 
to  talk  to  her,  and  lay  a  cool  hand  on  her 
head  —  that  mamma  she  had  just  disobeyed  ! 
Then  Dotty  repeated  some  verses  she  had 
learned  long  ago  :  — 

"At  night  my  mamma  comos  up  stairs, — 
She  comes  to  hear  me  say  my  prayers; 
And  while  I'm  kneeling  on  her  knee, 
She  always  kisses  little  me." 

When  it  came  to  the  last  line  the  poor 
child  buried  her  face  in  the  pillow.     Papa 
was  good,  and  grandma  was  good ;  but  there 
8 


114  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

was  no  one  like  anybody's  own  mamma, 
after  all. 

" ?  She  always  kisses  little  me,' "  murmured 
Dotty.  " '  She  always  kisses  little  me.' 
She  gives  me  twenty  kisses  when  I  go  to 
bed,  'cept  when  I'm  naughty,  and  then  I 
don't  have  but  ten." 

Dotty  counted  the  number  of  knobs  on 
the  bureau  drawers,  and  then  went  on :  — 

"I  think  if  I  was  in  my  mamma's  place, 
and  had  me  to  take  care  of,  I'd  throw  me 
out  of  the  window ;  I  wouldn't  keep  such  a 
girl !  " 

Dotty  had  great  satisfaction  in  scolding 
herself  when  she  was  all  alone.  It  was  a 
way  she  had  of  "  doing  her  own  punishing." 

Presently,  while  engaged  in  the  sooth 
ing  business  of  calling  herself  names,  she 
dropped  off  to  sleep.  She  dreamed  of  red 
wherries  and  "  white  waves ; "  but  never 


MAMMA  AND  LITTLE  ME.  115 

once  dreamed  that  her  mother  had  come, 
and  was  bending  over  the  bed,  actually 
"kissing  little  me." 

"Poor  thing,"  said  Mrs.  Parlin  to  herself, 
"  if  she  doesn't  have  a  settled  fever  I  shall 
be  thankful.  Will  the  time  ever  come  when 
my  little  daughter  will  learn  to  obey  her 
mother  ?  " 

Mrs.  Parlin  stole  out  of  the  room  very 
softly ;  but  a  sly  little  rogue,  observing  that 
she  left  the  creaking  door  a  little  ajar, 
watched  an  opportunity,  and  stole  in  on  her 
"tipsy  toes."  It  was  "wee  Katie."  Mrs. 
Parlin  had  brought  her  home,  to  keep  her 
out  of  the  way  of  Mrs.  Clifford,  who  was 
still  quite  ill. 

The  first  thing  which  roused  Dotty  to 
consciousness  was  a  feeling  of  suffocation. 
O,  was  she  in  the  bay?  Was  she  drowning? 
Something  lay  very  close  over  her  mouth; 


116  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

but  it  was  not  water :  in  fact  it  was  a  pil 
low;  and  on  the  pillow  sat  little  Katie  with 
her  whole  weight.  But  being  a  very  rest 
less  child,  it  is  not  likely  she  would  have 
remained  in  that  position  long  enough  to 
strangle  her  cousin,  even  if  Dotty  had  not 
thrown  up  her  arms  and  released  herself 
suddenly. 

"Why,  Katie  Clifford,  is  that  you?" 

"Yes,  this  is  me!"  replied  Katie,  with  a 
voice  as  sweet  as  a  wind-harp.  "You  didn't 
know  /  was  comin'.  You  turned  your  face 
away :  you  wouldn't  look  to  me  !  " 

"I  s'pose  I  was  asleep,  Katie.  You  didn't 
mean  to  sit  down  on  my  head,  did  you, 
darling?" 

:f  Yes,  I  did  meant  to.  But  you  is  sick. 
Folks  mus'irt  talk." 

"No,"  replied  Dotty,  smiling,  "when  folks 
are  sick  they  mustn't  talk. 


MAMMA   AND   LITTLE   ME.  117 

"Well,"  said  Katie,  putting  her  finger  on 
her  lip,  "they  is!" 

"O,  Katie!"  cried  Dotty,  a  new  idea 
seizing  her,  "  where's  mother?  Did  she 
come  with  you?" 

Katie  shook  her  head. 

"  My  dee  mamma  velly  sick." 

"Yes,  I  know;  but  where's  my  mamma? 
Did  she  come  with  you  in  the  cars?" 

Katie  shook  her  head  again. 

"Who  did  come  with  you,  then?  You 
didn't  come  alone?" 

"No,  there  was  folks." 

By  this  time  Dotty  had  sprung  out  of  bed, 
and  was  rushing  out  of  the  room  to  learn 
whether  her  mother  had  come.  Mrs.  Parlin 
niet  her  at  the  door. 

"My  darling  child,"  said  she,  hugging  and 
kissing  her  just  as  tenderly  as  if  she  had 
never  been  "  wherrying."  "  You'd  better 


118  DOTTY   DIMPLE  AT   HOME. 

lie  down  again,  and  let  me  bathe  your 
head." 

Dotty  sprang  into  bed  instantly.  She 
was  glad  her  mother  had  asked  her  to  do 
something,  so  she  might  prove  her  desire 
to  obey.  She  liked  the  touch  of  those  cool 
fingers  on  her  forehead. 

"O,  mamma,"  said  she,  "you  do  make  me 
feel  better.  It  felt  a  while  ago  as  if  they 
were  beating  drums  in  there." 

"Is  your  neck  stiff,  dear?" 

Katie  thrust  her  little  prying  fingers  under 
Dotty's  chin,  tickling  her,  of  course. 

"No,  auntie,"  said  she,  " 'tisn't  any  stiff, 
her  neck  isn't." 

"But  it's  sore,  mother.  Not  so  sore, 
though,  as  it  was  when  Jennie  Vanee  and  I 
got  caught  in  the  thunder  and  lightning." 

After  she  had  said  this,  Dotty  blushed, 
for  the  wrords  recalled  to  her  mind  another 


MAMMA   AND   LITTLE   ME.  119 

act  of  disobedience.  No  wonder  she  had 
thought  herself  such  a  naughty  girl,  fit  only 
to  be  thrown  out  of  the  window ! 

"  What  sort  of  a  child  has  Dotty  been 
since  I  have  been  gone?"  asked  Mrs.  Parliu 
of  Mrs.  Eastman,  as  they  both  sat  by  the 
bedside. 

Mrs.  Eastman  stroked  the  sheet  with 
her  white,  jewelled  hand  before  she  replied. 
She  was  thinking  how  the  little  girl  had 
turned  the  house  upside  down,  and,  as  she 
believed,  made  Johnny  more  mischievous 
than  ever;  so  she  hesitated  a  moment. 

"A  tolerably  good  child." 

This  was  all  Mrs.  Eastman  could  say;  and 
it  was  as  much  as  Mrs.  Parlin  had  dared 
hope.  She  knew  how  Johnny  and  Dotty 
encouraged  each  other  in  rude  behavior. 
She  looked  at  her  beautiful  little  daughter 
with  pain,  and  wondered,  as  she  had  many 


120  DOTTY  DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

times  wondered  before,  if  these  bitter  ex 
periences  she  was  suffering  would  ever  have 
the  effect  to  make  her  a  better  child. 

Dotty  did  not  understand  the  tender,  re 
gretful  glance  of  her  mother's  eyes.  She 
was  not  as  yet  very  well  acquainted  with 
the  English  language,  and  did  not  know 
what  "  tolerably "  meant ;  she  supposed  it 
meant  "remarkably." 

w  It's  so  queer,"  she  thought,  "  that  auntie 
should  tell  my  mamma  I've  been  tol'ably 
good  !  Why,  I  haven't,  I  know  I  haven't : 
I've  been  tol'ably  bad  !  " 

She  looked  up  at  her  auntie  in  surprise, 
and  at  that  moment  there  entered  into  her 
small  mind  a  doubt  of  Mrs.  Eastman's  truth 
fulness.  It  was  a  very  faint  doubt,  which 
she  did  not  express  even  to  herself.  It 
was  almost  incredible  that  a  grown-up  lady 
should  tell  the  "  thing  which  is  not,"  or  even 


MAMMA   AND    LITTLE    ME.  121 

color  the  truth  by  so  much  as  the  shadow 
of  a  shade.  Still,  when  auntie  had  called 
Dotty  a  tol'ably  good  girl,  she  must  have 
known  it  was  a  mistake  ! 

Dotty  did  not  have  a  fever;  but  for 
several  days  she  was  not  at  all  well,  and 
spent  most  of  the  time  in  her  grandmamma's 
room,  on  the  lounge.  It  would  have  been 
a  good  opportunity  for  reflection,  if  Katie 
Jiad  not.  been  in  the  house.  As  it  was, 
Dotty  did  think  of  her  own  conduct  for 
several  minutes  at  a  time,  during  the  inter 
vals  when  Katie  was  not  dancing  attendance 
upon  her.  She  decided  never  to  disobey 
her  mother  again,  and  said  so.  This,  yon 
remember,  was  nothing  new;  she  had  made 
the  same  resolve  fifty  times  before,  and 
broken  it  as  often. 

Johnny,  her  little  companion  in  naughti 
ness,  escaped  without  so  much  as  a  soro 


122  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME, 

throat;  but  he  suffered  in  another  way. 
His  father,  learning  of  his  exploit  upon  the 
water,  and  being  greatly  incensed,  punished 
him  severely.  It  was  not  often  that  Johnny 
was  corrected,  and  this  time  he  was  very 
indignant.  He  reflected  that  if  it  had  not 
been  for  Dotty  Dimple  his  sin  would  not 
have  been  found  out.  Dotty  had  ceased  to 
be  a  'f  brick  ; "  she  was  a  tell-tale  —  a  hateful, 
mean  tell-tale  ;  and  he  wished  she  would  go 
home  and  stay  there. 

"  I'll  pay  her  for  this  business,"  said  John 
ny,  talking  to  his  boots. 

Just  how  he  was  going  to  "pay"  his  little 
cousin  he  did  not  know.  As  for  being  sor 
ry  for  his  disobedience,  I  doubt  if  Johnny 
thought  of  such  a  thing.  He  knew  he  had 
been  in  much  peril,  and  now,  while  the 
remembrance  of  the  fright  was  still  fresh 
in  his  mind,  he  wTas  not  likely  to  fall 


MAMMA   AND   LITTLE   ME.          .      123 

into  the  same  temptation  again  —  that  was 
all. 

Johnny  missed  his  little  lively  cousin  in 
his  out-of-door  sports ;  but  he  was  so  angry 
with  her  that  he  scarcely  ever  went  up  stairs 
to  see  her;  and  when  he  did  go,  amused 
himself  by  putting  his  mouth  down  to  her 
ear,  and  crying,  — 

«E,  for  shame,  Dot  Parlin  !  Tore  I'd  run 
and  tell ! " 

But  Dotty  did  not  know  that  her  cousin 
Johnny  Avas  harboring  such  bitter  thoughts 
against  her.  She  had  a  high  temper  her 
self;  but  anger  did  not  rankle  in  her  heart 
for  days  and  days,  as  it  did  in  Johnny's. 
She  was  not  eager,  like  him,  for  revenge. 

The  Parlins  were  now  making  ready  to  go 
into  their  new  hired  house. 

They  were  all  longing  for  a  place  they 
could  call  "home."  % 


124  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

During  the  few  days,  while  they  yet  re 
mained  at  Mrs.  Eastman's,  very  few  events 
occurred  which  are  worth  recording.  For 
one  thing,  Dotty's  bird  died.  She  had  loved 
it  for  its  helplessness  ;*  but  Angeline  said,  — 

"  You  needn't  be  sorry.  What  did  I  tell 
you  when  you  took  that  bird  into  the  win 
dow?  I  knew  something  would  happen; 
but  didn't  know  as  it  would  be  a  boat-wreck 
exactly." 

Dotty,  and  even  Prudy,  had  received 
some  very  foolish  ideas  from  Angeline. 
The  Portland  fire  had  affected  the  Paflin 
family  in  more  ways  than  one  ;  and  it  would 
be  long  before  the  three  little  girls  would 
settle  into  their  usual  quiet  habits  again. 


THE   NEW   HOME.  125 


CHAPTEE    IX. 

THE   NEW   HOME. 

"  PRUDY,"  said  Dotty,  "you  needn't  say 
that  word  'wherrying'  to  me  any  more. 
Mamma  said  there  mus'n't  anybody  tease 
me  about  that,  because  I've  —  I've  repented 
it  all  up." 

"O,  I'm  so  glad!"  replied  Prudy. 

"I'll  never  take  another  bird  into  the 
window,"  continued  Dotty ;  "  it's  almost  as 
bad  as  a  ghost." 

"You  never  saw  a  ghost,  Dotty.  No 
body  ever  did." 

"Yes,  indeed;  Angeline  has  seen  ?em  as 
thick  as  spatter !  They  come  when  you're 
asleep,  and  there  don't  anybody  know  it. 


126  DOTTY  DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

I  shouldn't  dare  open  nay  eyes  in  the  night. 
They're  wrapped  in  a  sheet,  all  white,  and 
their  eyes  snap  like  fire.  Angeline  says 
they  do." 

c?  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Prudy,  stoutly  ; 
"my  mother  told  me  'twasn't  true." 

"PYaps  mamma  doesn't  wake  up  in  the 
night,"  said  Dotty,  "  and  p'r'aps  the  ghosts 
never  come  where  she  is.  Why,  Prudy, 
they're  made  out  o'  nothing !  If  you  stick 
a  knife  into  'em  it  goes  right  through,  and 
don't  touch  their  blood,  for  they  haven't 
got  any  blood.  They  don't  care  for  knives 
—  they're  just  like  bubbles." 

"I  don't  believe  it,"  replied  Prudy,  again. 
"I  think  it's  wicked.  My  mother  wouldn't 
like  it  if  she  knew  how  much  you  sat  in 
Angeline's  lap  and  talked  about  ghosts.  / 
don't  want  to  see  any  or  hear  any." 

"  I  do,  though  ! "  cried  Dotty.    "  I  shouldn't 


THE    NEW   HOME.  127 

be  afraid  —  the  leastest  speck.  I'd  go 
right  up  to  'em,  and,  said  I,  'How  do  you 
do,  sir?'  And  then  they  would  melt  like 
a  wink.  It  blows  'em  right  out  the  moment 
you  speak." 

"Does  it,  though?"  said  Johnny,  who  had 
been  listening  at  the  door.  "You  doivt  say 
so  !  Call  me  when  you  see  your  ghostses, 
and  let  me  talk  to  'em  too." 

"And  me!  What  is  um?"  said  wee 
Katie,  toddling  in  trith  her  mouth  full  of 
candy. 

"There,  there!"  cried  Dotty  Dimple, 
"you've  been  a-listening,  Johnny  East 
man." 

"  Don't  care  !  Tisn't  so  bad  as  being  a 
tell-tale,  Miss ! "  said  Johnny,  ending  the 
sentence  in  a  naughty  tone. 

"Why,  Johnny,  you  mus'n't  say  that!" 

"Why,  Johnny,"  echoed  Katie,  "you 
musser  say  that!" 


128  DOTTY    DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"Say  what?" 

"Say  Miss." 

The  children  all  laughed  at  this. 

"Come,  little  cues,"  said  Mr.  Parlin, 
appearing  at  the  door,  "put  on  your  hats; 
we  are  ready  to  start." 

Prudy  clapped  her  hands  —  an  action 
which  cousin  Percy  did  not  consider  very 
polite. 

"  It  shows,"  said  he,  "  how  glad  you  are 
to  leave  us." 

"O,  but  we  are  going  home,  you  know, 
Percy !  Only  think  of  having  a  home  to 
go  to ! " 

"It  isn't  the  burnt  one,  though,"  remarked 
Dotty,  as  she  danced  off  the  door-step ; 
"and  I  'spect  I'll  never  see  that  darling  little 
tea-set  any  more." 

The  new  house  was  not  in  the  least  like 
the  old  one.  Susy  was  always  bewailing 


THE    NEW   HOME.  129 

the  contrast.  She  did  not  like  the  wall 
paper  ;  the  carpets  were  homely ;  the  rooms 
were,  some  of  them,  too  large,  and  the 
door-yard,  certainly,  too  small. 

"But  it's  better  than  nothing,"  said 
Prudy,  who,  for  one,  was  heartily  tired 
of  visiting. 

"I  think,"  said  Mrs.  Parlin,  smiling, 
"this  is  a  very  good  opportunity  for  my 
little  daughters  to  learn  to  make  the  best 
of  everything.  We  cannot  have  the  old 
house,  so  wTe  will  try  not  to  long  for  it. 
We  never  wish  for  the  moon,  you  know." 

"Katie  does,"  laughed  Susy. 

"  We  cannot  have  the  old  home  again, 
so  we  will  make  the  new  one  as  happy 
as  we  can.  Isn't  that  the  best  way?" 

"Of  course  it  is,  mamma,"  replied  all 
the  children. 

"'Course,  indeed,  it  is!"  said  Katie,  try- 
9 


130  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

ing  to  pull  up  the  carpet  in  her  search 
for  a  lost  three-cent  piece. 

"I'm  glad  father's  dressing-gown  and  slip 
pers  didn't  get  scorched,"  said  Prudy ;  "  and 
the  piano  sounds  as  sweetly  as  ever  it  did. 
It  sounds  to  me  just  as  if  there  was  a  family 
in  there,  living  inside." 

"Like  what?" 

"  O,  you  know  there  are  four  parts  play 
ing  at  once,  and  it  seems  as  if  it  was  a  man 
and  his  wife,  and  two  children,  all  singing 
together ! " 

"I'm  glad  we  brought  so  many  flowers 
from  aunt  Eastman's,"  said  Susy,  bright 
ening;  "now  we'll  trim  all  the  rooms." 

"That  is  right,"  said  Mrs.  Parlin.  "This 
is  the  first  night  in  the  new  house  :  let  us 
make  it  as  cheerful  as  we  can  for  dear 
papa.  Susy,  you  may  as  well  practise 
that  new  tune  he  likes  so  well." 


THE   NEW   HOME.  131 

WO,  mamma,"  said  Prudy,  "I'll  tell  you 
what  I'll  do !  I'll  make  some  vinegar 
candy !  —  if  you'll  boil  it,  you  know,  and 
pull  it." 

"A  very  brilliant  idea,  my  daughter. 
Your  part  will  be  the  looking  on,  I  sup 
pose." 

"And  what'll  /  do?"  queried  Dotty, 
twisting  the  inevitable  lock  of  front  hair; 
"  if  papa  would  only  give  me  some  money, 
I'd  go  and  buy  him  a  present." 

"  The  wisest  thing  you  can  do  just  now, 
dear,  is  to  wash  that  berry-stain  off  your 
lips;  then  you  may  bring  me  a  fresh 
ruffle  to  baste  in  the  neck  of  this 
dress." 

Dotty  obeyed  at  once.  She  was  always 
glad  to  wear  that  white  delaine  with  the 
scarlet  spots. 

The    whol&    family   were    so   very   busy 


132  DOTTY  DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

during  the  afternoon,  that  they  forgot  to 
feel  any  regrets  for  the  old.  home.  The 
furniture  had  been  brought  and  arranged 
some  time  before,  and  the  most  Mrs.  Par- 
lin  expected  to  do  to-day  was  to  make  the 
house  as  pleasant  as  possible.  Susy  was 
allowed  to  attend  to  the  flowers ;  the  three 
others  looked  on,  and  watched  Mrs.  Par- 
lin,  while  she  made  vinegar  candy,  filled 
some  tarts  with  jelly,  and  helped  Norah 
set  the  supper-table. 

"  How  nice  ! "  said  Prudy,  rubbing  her 
hands.  "Sometimes  I  don't  much  care  if 
our  house  was  burnt  up." 

«  Nor  I  either,"  said  Dotty.  «  This  house 
has  got  a  good  deal  the  best  places  to 
hide  in." 

Mrs.  Parlin  smiled,  in  her  sweet,  con 
tented  way.  She  was  thinking  how  many 
blessings  we  can  all  find  in  our  lot  if  we 


THE   NEW   HOME.  133 

only  look  for  them.  Not  that  she  would 
ever  have  known  about  the  "  nice  places 
to  hide  in"  if  the  children  had  not  men 
tioned  them. 

"Dotty,"  said  she,  "you  may  run  up 
and  ask  grandmother  if  she  will  dare  drink 
any  coffee  to-night." 

Prudy  and  Dotty  tripped  up  the  broad 
staircase,  which  wound  about  so  much  that 
Prudy  said  it  twisted  her  like  a  string. 
Katie  ran  after  them,  catching  her  breath. 

There  sat  the  dear  grandmamma,  knitting 
some  winter  stockings  for  Prudy.  There 
were  no  curtains  at  the  windows,  and  the 
August  sunshine  fell  on  her  calm  face, 
bathing  it  with  warm  light.  The  carpet 
had  not  been  put  down  yet,  and  the  chil 
dren's  feet  made  a  hollow  sound  on  the 
bare  floor. 

w  Why,     grandma,"     said     Prudy,     "  it 


134  DOTTY  DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

wouldn't  be  nice  here  a  bit,  only  the 
room  has  got  you  in  it ! " 

"  Bless  thy  little  heart,  Prudence !  It 
will  be  nice  enough  here  to-morrow  night. 
I  wouldn't  have  thy  mother  touch  it  to 
day." 

"I've  got  a  gamma  to  my  house,"  said 
Katie,  passing  heF  little  fingers  over  Mrs. 
Eead's  white  kerchief ;  "but  mm  don't  have 
hang-fiss  on  um  neck." 

"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Eead,  in  reply  to  the 
children's  question,  "tell  your  mother  I 
will  take  some  coffee  to-night,  and  she  is 
very  kind  to  inquire." 

On  the  whole,  the  supper  that  evening 
was  quite  a  success.  Mr.  Parlin  had  come 
home  from  business,  tired  and  sad.  It  was 
not  pleasant  for  him  to  turn  his  steps 
towards  that  part  of  the  town :  he  missed 
his  old  home  more  than  ever.  But  when 


THE   NEW  HOME.  135 

he  entered  the  strange  house,  the  lonely 
look  left  his  face ;  for  there  in  the  hall 
stood  his  wife  and  children,  awaiting  him 
with  smiles  of  welcome. 

"O,  papa!"  said  Dotty,  springing  into 
his  arms,  while  her  sisters  seized  him  by 
the  coat-sleeves,  "you  ought  to  have  a 
birthday  to-night,  we've  got  such  a  splen 
did  supper ! " 

"  Sthop  !  "  cried  Katie.  "  /'s  talking. 
Cake,  and  verjerves,  and  Powers,  and 
butter ! " 

"And  Susy's  been  practising  the  'Blue 
Violet's  Carol,'"  said  Prudy. 

"Yes,  her  packus,  uncle  Ed'ard!" 

"  And  I'll  read  the  paper  to  you  if  your 
eyes  ache,"  went  on  Prudy ;  "  and  we  are 
going  to  be  just  as  happy,  papa ! " 

"An'  vindegar  canny,"  struck  in  Katie. 

"  O,  hush,  now ! "  whispered  Dotty,  cov- 


136  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

ering    the    child's   mouth  with    her    hand 
kerchief. 

The  whole  house  was  fragrant  with  flow 
ers,  and  had  such  a  festive  appearance,  that 
Mr.  Parlin  kept  exclaiming,  "  Ah,  indeed  !  " 
and  stroking  his  beard.  Prudy  said  she 
always  knew  when  papa  was  pleased,  for 
then  he  always  "patted  his  whiskers." 

The  table  was  very  attractive,  and  every 
body  had  a  fine  appetite.  After  Mr.  Parlin 
had  drank  a  cup  of  delicious  coffee,  he  no 
longer  remembered  that  he  was  tired.  He 
looked  upon  the  merry  group  around  him, 
and  said  to  his  wife, — 

"I  see,  my  dear,  you  are  disposed  to 
make  the  best  of  our  misfortunes.  But, 
after  all,  you  are  not  quite  as  meek  as  one 
old  lady  I  heard  of  once." 

"Please  tell  it,  if  it's  a  story,  papa,"  said 
the  children. 


THE   NEW   HOME.  137 

"  Not  much  of  a  story  ;  only  there  were 
two  old  women  who  lived  by  themselves, 
and  were  so  very  poor  that  they  had  noth 
ing  in  the  world  to  eat  but  potatoes  and 
salt.  One  day  a  friend  went  to  see  them, 
and  when  he  sat  down  to  their  humble 
meal  of  roasted  potatoes,  he  was  moved 
with  pity,  and  told  them  he  was  very 
sorry  to  see  them  so  poor. 

"Then  one  of  the  old  ladies  rolled  up 
her  eyes,  and  said,  'I  was  just  a-thinkin', 
neighbor,  that  this  meal  is  altogether  too 
good  for  us,  we're  so  unworthy !  I  only 
wish  the  potatoes  was  froze ! '  " 

The  children  laughed. 

"But  I  shouldn't  like  that  old  lady, 
though.  I  know  how  she  looked :  it  was 
just  this  way,"  said  Prudy,  drawing  down 
her  mouth,  and  looking  cross-eyed. 

"She   didn't  want   the   potatoes   frozed," 


138  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

added  Dotty;  "for  if  she  did,  she  might 
have  laid  'em  out  doors  all  night,  and  they  'd 
have  freezed  as  hard  as  a  stick." 

Grandma  Eead  had  a  thought  just  then, 
though  she  did  not  express  it.  She  was 
thinking  what  a  contrast  this  cheerful  fam 
ily  presented  to  another  "  burnt-out "  family, 
who  had  this  very  day  moved  into  a  house 
across  the  street.  The  mother  she  had  seen 
from  the  window,  and  she  looked  perfectly 
discouraged.  The  children  were  fretful,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  they  were  all  trying,  with 
one  accord,  to  see  which  could  do  most 
to  make  the  new  home  disagreeable. 

"I  should  say  they  freeze  their  potatoes," 
thought  Mrs.  Eead. 

She  meant  that,  instead  of  trying  to 
improve  matters,  they  only  made  them 
worse. 

After   supper,  just  as   the   Parlins  were 


THE    NEW   HOME.  139 

sitting  down  for  a  quiet  evening,  ^the  door 
bell  rang  furiously,  and  shook  for  a  minute 
afterwards,  as  if  it  were  in  an  ague-fit. 
Who  had  come  to  break  up  the  family  har 
mony  ? 

I  will  tell  you  in  the  next  chapter. 


140  DOTTY    DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 


CHAPTEE    X. 

A    SURPRISE. 

NORAH  went  to  the  door,  hardly  expecting 
to  find  any  one  there ;  for  when  the  bell 
pealed  in  that  violent  manner,  it  was  often 
some  roguish  boy  who  rang  it,  and  then 
ran  away.  But  this  time,  to  her  amaze 
ment,  there  stood  on  the  door-step  and  in 
the  yard  as  many  as  twenty  boys  and 
girls. 

"  Is  Miss  Susy  Parlin  at  home  ?  "  said  one 
of  them. 

"And  Miss  Prudy?"  added  another. 

"She  is  —  I  mean  they  are.  Will  you 
please  walk  in?" 

As   Norah   spoke,    she    swung    open   the 


A   SURPRISE.  141 

parlor  door,  too  much  "  flattered,"  as  she 
afterwards  said,  to  announce  the  arrival  in 
due  form.  The  guests  poured  in  with  all 
speed.  Susy  sprang  up  as  suddenly  as  if 
the  piano  stool  were  exploding ;  but  what 
to  say  she  did  not  know,  and  stood  still  in 
dumb  surprise.  Prudy  caught  her  by  the 
skirts,  and  whispered,  "  Good  evening ;  "  but 
nobody  heard  it.  Dotty  Dimple,  not  in  the 
least  abashed,  was  about  to  do  the  honors, 
when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parlin  came  forward, 
and  relieved  her  of  the  trouble.  They 
greeted  the  little  people  very  cordially, 
and  gave  them  a  pleasant  welcome  to  the 
new  house.  Then  Mrs.  Parlin  directed 
her  daughters  to  carry  away  the  hats 
and  sacques  of  the  }roung  misses ;  and 
by  the  time  this  ceremony  was  over,  the 
stiffness  had  somewhat  worn  away,  and 
Susy  and  Prudy  could  breathe  more  freely. 


142  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT  HOME. 

Flyaway  went  up  first  to  one,  and  then 
to  another,  with  the  question,  — 

"Did  you  came  to  see  me  ?"  - 

The  two  heads  of  the  family  retreated, 
Mr.  Parlin  saying  to  his  wife  as  they 
went,  — 

"  When  you  and  I  were  children,  we  had 
our  parties  in  the  afternoon ;  but  this  is  a 
new  fashion,  I  suppose." 

"  It  is  the  first  time  our  little  girls  have 
ever  received  company  in  the  evening," 
replied  Mrs.  Parlin.  "I  do  hope  these 
children  will  not  stay  late.  It  happens 
that  I  have  made  a  large  quantity  of  vin 
egar  candy,  but  not  enough,  I  think,  for 
the  whole  company." 

"Very  well,"  said  Mr.  Parlin;  "and  now, 
as  the  little  people  seem  to  be  doing  very 
nicely,  suppose  we  go  out  for  a  walk, 

and  call   at    a   confectioner's    on    our   way 

* 
home." 


A   SUEPEISE.  143 

Susy  felt  very  much  flattered  by  this 
surprise  party.  It  gave  her  an  assurance 
that  she  was  held  in  kind  remembrance  by 
her  schoolmates,  many  of  whom  had  been 
"burnt  out,"  and  knew  exactly  how  to 
sympathize  with  her. 

But  Susy's  satisfaction  was  by  no  means 
complete.  In  the  first  place,  Katie  would 
not  go  to  bed,  and  could  not  be  persuaded 
to  leave  the  room  any  longer  than  just  to 
bring  in  her  ragged  black  Dinah,  and  the 
yellow-and- white  kitten. 

Dinah  was  passed  around  the  room  to  be 
pitied.  There  was  a  mustard  plaster  on  her 
chest,  applied  that  day  by  Dotty,  in  order 
to  break  up  a  lung  fever.  Dinah's  ankle, 
which  was  really  broken,  had  been  "set" 
and  mended  with  a  splinter,  and  was  wait 
ing  for  a  new  bone  to  grow.  Percy  East 
man,  the  oldest  boy  present,  said,  — 


144       DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

"Well,  cousin  Dimple,  you  and  Flyaway 
do  take  extra  care  of  Miss  Dinah !  If  you 
should  lose  her,  you  can't  have  anything  to 
reflect  upon." 

Susy  did  not  so  much  mind  the  laughter 
at  Dinah's  expense ;  for,  although  such  a 
hideous  black  baby  was  not  suitable  for 
genteel  society,  still  it  was  Katie  who  was 
exhibiting  it,  and  Katie  was  pardonable  for 
the  weakness.  The  trying  question  was, 
What  would  the  child  do  next?  There 
was  nothing  certain  about  Flyaway  except 
her  uncertainty.  Susy  was  about  to  appeal 
to  her  mother  to  take  the  little  one  away, 
when  she  heard  the  hall  door  open  and 
shut;  her  father  and  mother  had  gone  out 
for  their  walk.  * 

It  did  occur  to  Susy  that  this  was  a 
great  pity;  and,  indeed,  it  is  quite  prob 
able,  Mrs.  Parlin  would  not  have  left  the 


A   SURPRISE.  145 

house  if  she  could  have  foreseen  how 
much  her  presence  would  be  needed. 

And  after  all  it  was  Dotty  Dimple,  and 
not  Flyaway,  who  made  the  whole  trouble. 
Flyaway  was  under  every  one's  feet,  it  is 
true,  and  sat  down  in  the  middle  of  the 
floor  to  comb  and  brush  the  kitty's  head; 
but  then  she  never  for  a  moment  lost  her 
temper :  it  was  Dotty,  the  girl  old  enough 
to  know  better,  who  was  cross  and  disagree 
able. 

I  am  sorry  to  record  this  of  Dotty,  and 
so  I  will  try  to  make  a  little  excuse  for  her. 
She  was  not  well.  She  had  hardly  felt  like 
herself  since  that  unfortunate  boat-ride. 
She  was  sleepy  and  tired,  and  ought  to 
have  gone  to  bed  at  eight  o'clock  —  the 
usual  hour.  Then,  again,  the  guests  were 
nearly  all  older  than  herself,  and  paid  very 
little  attention  to  her.  She  thought  she 
10 


146  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

might  as  well  have  worn  her  calico  wrap 
per  as  this  beautiful  white  delaine,  for  all 
the  notice  they  took  of  her  dress. 

There  was  only  one  child  present  of 
Dotty 's  own  age,  —  Johnny  Eastman,  — 
and  if  he  would  only  have  played  cat's 
cradle  with  her,  all  might  have  gone  well. 
But  Johnny  had  not  forgotten  the  severe 
correction  his  father  had  given  him  in  the 
stable  with  a  horsewhip.  Every  time  he 
looked  at  his  little  cousin,  the  thought 
arose, — 

"  She  was  real  mean  to  run  and  tell !  Til 
pay  her  for  that  —  won't  I,  though  ? " 

Percy  had  promised  to  aid  him  in  his 
revenge;  and  you  will  presently  learn 
what  this  was  to  be.  Percy  liked  "cousin 
Dimple"  very  well;  he  was  only  putting 
a  wicked  scheme  into  his  little  brother's 
head  "just  for  the  fun  of  the  thing." 


A   SURPRISE.  147 

The  guests  were  talking  of  having  a  few 
tableaux  and  charades,  like  some  they  had 
seen  arranged  by  their  older  sisters. 

"I  don't  care  anything  about  their  old 
tolly-blows  —  do  you,  Johnny?"  said  Dotty. 
"Let's  play  ?Ispy' —  you  and  I." 

"No,  you  don't  catch  me  playing  high 
spy  with  such  a  cross  party  as  you  are, 
Dot  Dimple." 

"  I  wish  you'd  stop  calling  me  a  '  cross 
party'  the  whole  time,  Johnny  Eastman," 
replied  Dotty,  shaking  her  elbows. 

Just  then  Susy  came,  and  whispered  a 
few  words  in  her  ear. 

"No,  I  won't  be  hung !  I'm  sure  I  won't 
be  hung!"  cried  Dotty,  who  was  by  this 
time  very  much  out  of  sorts. 

"O,  Dotty!  what  makes  you  act  so? 
We've  got  a  charade,  'Crisis.'  Half  of  us 
are  going  to  play  it  for  the  other  half  to 


148  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT    HOME. 

guess.  We  only  want  to  weigh  you,  with 
a  yardstick  through  an  old  shawl ;  that's 
all.  Come,  let  us  pin  you  up ;  there's  a 
goody  girl." 

"I  don't  want  to  be  a  goody  girl.  I'm 
too  big  to  be  goody.  If  you  want  a  baby 
to  make  believe  with,  why  don't  you  take 
Flyaway?  She's  littler  than  me." 

"There,  there!"  said  Prudy,  coming  to 
the  rescue,  "you  needn't  do  a  single  thing, 
Dotty,  if  you  don't  want  to.  We  didn't 
know  but  you'd  like  to  play  be  weighed, 
you  can  squeal  so  be-ycw-tifully  ! " 

"I  know  I  can  squeal  just  like  a  rubber 
doll ;  but  s'posin'  they  should  let  me  fall 
off  the  yardstick  —  where 'd  I  go  to  then?" 

"O,  but  they  wouldn't!" 

"Of  course  they  would,  Prudy  Parlin. 
And  I  should  fall  right  into  the  tolly-blow 
—  that's  where  I  should  fall  to." 


A   SURPRISE.  149 

"O,  pshaw!"  exclaimed  Percy,  coming 
into  the  corner  where  his  cousins  stood ; 
"if  cousin  Dimple  has  got  into  one  of  her 
contrary  fits,  it's  of  no  use  teasing.  You 
might  as  well  try  to  move  the  side  of  the 
house." 

This  cutting  speech  was  all  that  was 
needed  to  complete  Dotty's  ill  humor. 
Did  she  remember  any  longer  her  prom 
ise  not  to  get  angry,  but  to  swallow  her 
temper  right  down?  No,  indeed;  she 
forgot  everything  but  her  own  self-will. 

"Don't  you  speak  again,  Percy,  or  I'll 
scream  my  throat  right  in  two  !  " 

"Girls,  I  advise  you  to  let  that  child 
alone,"  said  her  cousin,  with  a  look  of 
supreme  contempt.  "Let's  try  Flyaway; 
she's  a  little  darling.  Here,  Flyaway, 
are'n't  you  willing  to  be  pinned  up  in  a 
shawl  if  we'll  give  you  a  whole  cent?" 


150  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"Course,  indeed,  so!"  replied  the  little 
one,  tossing  her  kitten  across  a  chair,  and 
into  the  fireplace.  "But  you  mus'  gi'  me 
mucher  'n  that !  Gi'  me  hunnerd  cents  ! " 

No  answer  was  made  to  this,  except  to 
dress  the  child  in  a  ruffled  cap  and  long 
clothes,  and  pin  her  into  a  plaid  shawl. 

"Now  cry,"  said  Percy;  "cry  just  as  if 
you  had  soap  in  your  eyes." 

"Ee!    Ee!"    wailed  Katie,  loudly. 

"No,  cry  weak;  cry  just  as  you  did 
when  you  were  a  baby." 

"I  don't  'member  when  I  was  a  baby, 
'twas  so  many  years  ago,"  sighed  Fly 
away. 

But  she  practised  crying  again,  and  suc 
ceeded  very  well,  Dotty  all  the  while  look 
ing  on  in  grim  displeasure. 

Susy  was  the  mamma;  and  when  the 
folding-doors  opened  upon  the  scene  "  Cry," 


A   SURPRISE.  151 

She  was  sitting  in  a  rocking-chair,  admir 
ing  her  child,  a  remarkably  well-grown 
baby,  two  months  old. 

"Just  the  image  of  his  papa,  Mrs.  Pet- 
tibone  ! "  cried  Florence  Eastman,  rushing 
in,  in  the  character  of  an  old  lady,  her 
head  adorned  with  a  scoop  bonnet.  "Let 
me  look  at  the  precious  little  creature ! 
Yes,  just  the  image  of  his  papa !  I  said 
so  before  I  ever  set  eyes  on  him.  He's 
two  months  of  age,  you  say,  and  how 
many  teeth?" 

"She  is  a  girl,"  replied  Mrs.  Susy,  kiss 
ing  the  big  bundle,  "and  weighs  twenty- 
nine  pounds,  three  inches." 

Susy  meant  "ounces." 

Then  followed  a  chat  between  herself  and 
a  few  little  old  ladies  concerning  catnip 
and  "pep'mint"  tea;  after  which  the  won 
derful  baby  was  held  up  by  the  yardstick 
to  be  weighed. 


152  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

Flyaway  had  not  expected  to  be 
pended  so  high  in  the  air.  She  forgot  the 
baby-like  cry  she  had  been  practising,  and 
screamed  out  in  terror,  — 

"  I  wish  I  didn't  be  to  Portland !  O,  I 
wish  I  didn't  be  to  Portland !  " 

As  this  was  a  very  long  speech  for  a 
baby  two  months  old,  the  audience  were 
taken  by  surprise,  and  laughed  heartily. 
Poor  little  Flyaway  was  lifted  out  of  the 
shawl,  and  kissed  over  and  over  again. 
She  had  not  played  properly,  it  is  true, 
but  she  had  intended  to  do  right,  and 
was  applauded  for  her  good  intentions. 

Dotty  saw  and  heard  the  whole.  She 
was  sorry  she  had  refused  the  part,  and 
she  put  her  fingers  in  her  mouth,  and 
sulked,  because  little  Flyaway  had  been 
stealing  the  praise  she  might  have  received 
herself. 


A    SURPRISE.  153 

After  both  syllables  of  the  charade  had 
been  acted  and  guessed,  then  the  other 
half  of  the  company  took  their  turn,  and 
attempted  to  arrange  a  tableau.  There 
was  a  deal  of  confusion.  No  one  knew 
exactly  what  ought  to  be  done.  They 
were  to  have  a  Goddess  of  Liberty,  and 
finally  decided  to  dress  her  in  an  embroid 
ered  window  curtain,  with  a  shield  on  her 
breast  made  of  a  blue  box  cover,  striped 
with  yellow  silk.  Dotty  was  selected  as 
goddess,  on  account  of  her  superior  beauty. 

"  But  my  mamma  never  'lows  me  to  wear 
window  curtains,  and  I  sha'n't  be  a  tolly- 
blow  'thout  I  can  wear  my  white  dress 
with  red  spots,  and  a  big  bosom-pin  in ! " 

"And  a  shaker,"  suggested  one  of  the 
girls.  "I  didn't  know  before  that  Susy 
Parlin  had  such  a  bad  sister." 

This  was  too  much.     Dotty 's  head   was 


154       DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

on  fire.  She  caught  the  girl  by  the  shoul 
der,  and  shook  her  as  if  she  had  been  a 
breadth  of  dusty  carpeting;  then  ran 
away. 

Which  way  she  went  she  did  not  heed, 
and  never  stopped  till  she  came  to  a  dark 
pantry,  which  had  been  made  without  any 
windows,  on  purpose  to  keep  out  flies.  The 
unhappy  child  threw  herself,  out  of  breath, 
upon  the  floor  of  this  closet,  her  heart 
beating  high  with  rage  and  shame. 


JOHNNY'S  EEVENGE.  155 


CHAPTEE   XI. 
JOHNNY'S  REVENGE. 

DOTTY'S  cross  behavior  had  entirely  spoiled 
the  pleasure  of  the  evening  for  her  two 
sisters.  They  felt,  as  they  had  felt  years 
before,  when  they  saw  her,  a  mere  baby, 
perched  upon  the  wood-box,  with  her  hands 
and  feet  tied  —  they  felt  that  it  was  a  family 
disgrace. 

All  these  little  boys  and  girls,  who  had 
never  known  before  what  Dotty's  temper 
was,  knew  all  about  it  now;  they  would 
talk  of  it  to  one  another;  they  would  go 
home  and  tell  of  it,  and  remember  it  forever 
and  ever. 

"And,   O   dear!"   thought   Susy,   "they 


156       DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

won't  know  she  was  born  so,  and  can't  help 
it." 

For  that  this  was  the  case,  Susy  firmly 
believed. 

"  IVe  got  it  written  in  my  journal," 
thought  Prudy,  "  how  she  promised  to  swal 
low  it  down ;  but  Dotty  isn't  well,  and 
that's  the  reason  she  can't  remember." 

Both  the  sisters  knew  that  Dotty  had  left 
the  parlors,  and  they  were  very  glad  of  it. 
They  did  not  attempt  to  follow  her.  They 
did  not  know  precisely  where  she  had  gone, 
but  presumed  she  was  pouting  somewhere. 
That  there  could  be  danger  of  any  sort  for 
the  poor  child  in  that  house  they  never 
dreamed.  Neither  did  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Parlin 
dream  it,  or  they  would  have  walked  home 
a  little  faster  from  their  visit  to  the  white 
tents  on  Green  Street. 

The  games  went  on  as  usual,  and  were 


JOHNNY'S  REVENGE.  157 

quite  as  amusing  to  the  guests  as  if  they  had 
not  been  very  poor  ones  indeed.  Susy  and 
Prudy  need  not  have  feared  that  the  little 
people  would  not  have  a  good  time ;  the 
"surprise  party"  was  a  perfect  success,  and 
Dotty's  ill-humor  made  no  one  unhappy 
but  her  sensitive  sisters.  Meanwhile  the 
wretched  child  was  lying  on  the  pantry 
floor,  thinking  very  confused  thoughts. 

"  I  wish  I  was  dead.  No  I  don't.  I'm  too 
wicked.  But  I  wasn't  any  wickeder  'n  that 
girl.  She  said  Susy  Parlin  had  a  bad  sister. 
What  made  her  say  that?  She  knew  I'd 
hear.  I'm  glad  I  shook  her.  No,  I'm  sor 
ry.  It  was  murder  —  the  Bible  says  so. 
Johnny  murdered  too  —  murdered  me.  He 
called  me  a  f  cross  party.'  That  was  a  story. 
Johnny's  wickeder  'n  ever  /was. 

"Prudy  thought  I  ought  to  be  a  baby. 
Percy  thought  so.  He  said,  'I  devise  you 


158  DOTTY  DIMPLE  AT  HOME. 

to  let  that  child  alone.'  Fm  going  to  let 
him  alone !  All  the  time !  Did  I  want  to 
fall  off  that  yardstick,  right  into  the  tolly- 
blow  ? 

"There's  Prudy:  she  can  be  good;  it 
doesn't  hurt  her.  It  hurts  me  to  be  good ; 
it  tires  me  all  up. 

"  And  here  it  is,  as  dark  as  a  pickpocket." 
(Dotty  raised  her  head  and  took  a  survey.) 
"  Why,  the  moon  can't  get  here,  nor  the 
sun.  Is  this  down  cellar  ?  No,  I  didn't 
see  any  stairs.  Where  did  I  go  to  when  I 
came  ?  I  walked  right  on  the  floor.  What 
floor  ?  Was  it  the  dining-room,  or  was  it 
out  doors?  I  didn't  look  at  it  to  see. 

"  This  is  a  '  cuddy.'  There's  ever  so  many 
'  cuddies '  in  this  house  to  hide  in.  I've 
gone  and  hid.  Nobody  '11  ever  find  me.  My 
father  '11  say,  <  Why,  where's  that  child  ? ' 
And  my  mother  '11  say,  *  I  don't  know.'  And 


JOHNNY'S  REVENGE.  159 

they  '11  hunt  all  over  the  house ;  and  I  shall 
keep  my  head  in  my  apron,  and  won't  say  a 
word. 

"  Then  Prudy  '11  say,  '  O,  my  darling  sister 
Dotty  !  How  sweet  and  good  she  was  ! ' 

"  And  they  '11  think  I'm  dead  !  And  Su 
sy  '11  cry  out  loud,  and  tell  Percy,  and  he  '11 
say,  ?O,  how  sorry  I  am  I  said  "I  devise 
you  to  let  that  child  alone  "  ! ' " 

Dotty  sighed  as  she  pictured  to  herself 
Percy's  conscience-stricken  face. 

"  And  that  girl  that  called  me  a  bad  sister 
—  how  she  ni  feel !  And  Johnny  —  I  guess 
Johnny  won't  say  '  cross  party '  any  more  ! 

w  Grandma  —  why,  grandma  '11  read  the 
Bible.  And  O,  such  a  time  ! 

"That  Angeline  girl  will  remember  how 
she  rocked  that  darling  Dotty,  and  told  me 
stories." 

Dotty  was  seized  with  a  sudden  shivering. 


160  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

The  stories  came  back  to  her  mind  vividly. 
If  Angeline  had  told  her  simple  little  tales 
of  every-day  life,  Dotty  might  have  forgot 
ten  them ;  but,  like  all  children,  she  had  an 
active  imagination,  and  anything  marvellous 
or  horrible  made  a  deep  impression. 

The  current  of  her  thoughts  was  changed 
as  soon  as  she  remembered  those  unknown 
ghosts  of  Angelina's  description. 

"All  white,  wrapped  in  a  sheet.  Put  a 
knife  through,  and  they  don't  know  it.  No 
blood,  no  bones,  no  anything.  Go  through 
a  keyhole.  Will  they,  though?  Prudy 
don't  believe  it.  Am  I  anywhere  near  a 
keyhole?  I  don't  know.  I've  gone  and 
hid,  and  I  can't  find  myself.  Pm  some 
where,  but  I  don't  know  where." 

Dotty  began  to  feel  very  uncomfortable. 
There  was  no  longer  the  slightest  satisfac 
tion  in  the  thought  of  frightening  the  family. 


JOHNNY'S  REVENGE.  161 

She  was  frightened  herself,  and  with  the 
worst  kind  of  fear  —  the  fear  of  the  super 
natural. 

"1  can't  see  the  leastest  thing,  and  I  can't 
hear  anything,  either.  Ghosts  don't  make 
any  noise.  May  be  there  are  some  in  this 
house :  been  locked  up,  and  the  man  didn't 
know  it." 

The  silence  seemed  to  grow  deeper.  Dot 
ty  could  hear  her  heart  beat. 

"My  heart  thumps  like  a  mouse  in  the 
wall.  I'm  going  to  get  out  of  this  place.  I 
feel  as  if  there's  a  ghost  in  here.  It  creeps 
all  over  me.  I  can't  get  my  breath." 

Dotty  rose  cautiously;  but  she  had  been 
lying  so  long  in  a  cramped  position  that 
both  her  feet  were  asleep.  While  trying 
to  recover  her  balance  she  caught  at  some 
thing,  which  proved  to  be  a  glass  jar  of 
raspberry  jam.  The  cover  came  off,  and 
11 


162  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

the  jam  poured  down  her  neck  in  a  thick 
stream. 

"My  beautiful  white  dress  with  the  red 
spots !  Who  put  that  dirty  thing  in  my 
way?  Smells  like  purserves.  They  ought 
to  be  ashamed  !  " 

Dotty  tried  bearing  her  weight  on  both 
feet,  and  found  she  could  walk. 

"But  I've  whirled  round  three  or  four 
times.  I  didn't  ever  know  which  way  to 
go,  and  now  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  so  well 
as  I  did  in  the  first  place.  If  I  step  any 
more,  perhaps  I'll  step  into  some  molasses." 

Dotty's  meditations  were  becoming  more 
confused  than  ever.  Now  it  was  not  only 
ghosts,  but  jam  and  jelly  which  went  to 
make  up  the  terrors  of  the  situation.  But 
she  was  growing  desperate.  She  groped 
right  and  left,  saying  to  herself,  — 

"Where's  the  out  9" 


JOHNNY'S  REVENGE.  163 

At  last  she  came  to  the  door,  which  she 
had  unconsciously  closed  when  she  entered 
the  pantry.  She  opened  it,  and  her  eyes 
were  greeted  with  light.  It  was  the  moon 
shining  in  at  the  kitchen  windows. 

Her  fears  vanished.  She  was  just  won- 
-dering  whether  to  return  to  the  parlor  in  a 
forgiving  spirit,  or  to  stay  away  and  make 
everybody  unhappy,  when  a  strange,  horri 
ble  object  met  her  view,  —  not  white,  but 
yellow. 

Was  it  —  was  it  —  a  truly,  truly  ghost? 
O,  it  must  be  a  ghost  on  fire  !  It  hadn't 
any  sheet  round  it.  Nothing  was  to  be  seen 
but  a  hideous  head  peeping  in  at  the  win 
dow.  No  man  ever  looked  like  that.  No 
man  ever  had  such  a  mouth.  It  was  as  deep 
as  a  cave,  and  all  ablaze.  Somebody  had 
gone  and  swallowed  a  stove  ;  somebody  had 
come  to  do  —  do  —  O,  what  had  he  come  to 
do? 


164  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

"  It's  a  yellow  ghost !  "  thought  Dotty.  "  I 
didn't  know  they  had  such  a  kind.  Ange- 
line  never  said  so.  But  its  eyes  are  just 
like  her  ghosts'  eyes  —  going  to  burn  you 
up!" 

These  thoughts  darted  through  Dotty's 
mind  like  lightning-flashes.  At  the  same 
time  she  gave  one  loud,  terrified  scream, 
and  fell  forward  upon  the  floor.  She  did 
not  rise,  she  did  not  speak,  she  seemed 
scarcely  to  breathe.  The  shock  had  partial 
ly  stunned  her. 

w  Why,  Dotty —Dotty  Dimple  ! "  exclaimed 
Percy,  rushing  in  at  the  back  door,  and 
seizing  his  little  cousin  by  the  shoulders. 
"  Look  up  here,  darling !  'Twas  nobody 
but  me !  " 

No  answer. 

"Nobody  but  me  and  Percy,"  said  Johnny, 
pulling  Dotty's  ears  to  attract  her  attention. 


JOHNNY'S  REVENGE.  165 

rt  Only  a  jack-o'-lantern,  you  dear  little 
ducky,"  cried  Percy. 

"A  pumpkin,  you  goosie,"  said  Johnny. 

No  reply,  but  a  sudden  Choking,  followed 
by  convulsive  sobs.  Whether  the  child 
heard  and  understood  what  was  said  to  her, 
Percy  could  not  determine.  He  was  old 
enough  to  know  that  a  sadden  and  powerful 
shock  is  always  more  or  less  dangerous. 
He  redoubled  his  efforts. 

"Look,  dear,  here's  the  pumpkin.  Holes 
cut  out  for  eyes.  A  gash  for  the  mouth. 
A  candle  stuck  in." 

"  Smart  girl !  "  ejaculated  Johnny,  who  was 
too  young  and  ignorant  to  see  anything  but 
amusement  in  the  whole  affair.  w  Smart 
girl,  scared  of  a  pumpkin ! " 

w  Johnny  was  angry  with  you,"  went  on 
Percy,  rather  nervously;  "he  said  he  wanted 
to  tease  you.  I  brought  the  pumpkin  from 


166  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

our  house.  I'm  sorry.  Look  up,  Dimple  > 
see  what  it  is  !  Don't  be  afraid.  Laugh,  or 
if  you  can't  laugh,  cry.  Here's  my  hand 
kerchief." 

Dotty  continued  to  moan. 

Percy  caught  her  tip  in  his  arms.  "Any 
pump  in  the  house?  Johnny,  get  some 
water  somewhere,  quick !  and  then  run  for 
the  camphor  bottle." 

Percy  was  at  his  wit's  end.  He  ran  round 
and  round,  with  the  little  girl  in  his  arms. 
She  had  life  enough  to  cling  to  his  neck. 
Johnny  saw  a  pail  of  water,  dipped  a  tea- 
strainer  into  it,  and  dashed  two  drops  in 
Dotty's  face. 

"That  won't  do,  boy  !  Throw  on  a  quart- 
ful !  Hurry  !  " 

Johnny  promptly  obeyed.  Dotty  gasped 
for  breath,  and  uttered  a  scream.  Percy 
felt  encouraged. 


167 

"More,  Johnny  ;  the  whole  pailful.  We'll 
nave  her  out  of  this  double-quick  —  " 

Just  as  Percy  had  extended  his  little 
cousin  on  the  floor,  and  Johnny  had  poured 
enough  water  over  her  to  soak  every  thread 
of  her  clothing,  there  was  a  sound  of  foot 
steps.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parlin  were  coming  in 
at  the  back  door. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  they  both  ex 
claimed,  very  much  alarmed,  as  might  have 
been  expected.  There  lay  their  little  daugh 
ter,  screaming  and  gurgling,  her  mouth  full 
of  water,  her  dress  stained  with  the  raspberry 
jam,  which  was  easily  mistaken  for  blood. 

"  Why,  uncle  Edward,"  stammered  Percy, 
"'twas  a  —  " 

"Why,  auntie,"  cried  Johnny,  "'twas  only 
a  pumpkin.  She  went  and  was  afraid  of  a 
pumpkin  !  " 

The   cause   of   this    direful    affright,   the 


168  DOTTY   DIMPLE    AT   HOME. 

lighted  jack-o'-lantern,  was  lying  face  up 
ward  on  the  floor,  the  candle  within  it 
smoking  and  dripping  with  tallow.  One 
glance  explained  the  whole  mystery. 

But  by  this  time  there  seemed  to  be  no 
further  cause  for  anxiety  with  regard  to 
Dotty.  She  gathered  herself  together,  sat 
upright,  and  began  to  scold. 

"  'Twas  blazing  a-fire,  mamma.  He  lighted 
it  to  plague  ine  —  Johnny  did." 

"I'm  ever  so  sorry,  auntie,"  said  Percy, 
and  his  regretful  face  said  as  much  as  his 
words. 

"Johnny  scared  me  to  death,"  broke  in 
Dotty;  "and  then  he  pumped  water  on  me 
all  over — Johnny  did." 

"  I'll  never  do  so  again,"  said  Percy, 
shamed  by  the  look  of  reproach  in  his 
uncle's  face. 

"See  that  you  remember  your  promise, 


JOHNNY'S  REVENGE.  169 

my  boy.  You  have  run  a  great  risk  to 
night." 

No  one  supposed,  at  the  time,  that  Dotty 
had  received  a  serious  injury ;  but  she  did 
not  sleep  off  the  effects  of  her  fright.  She 
was  remarkably  pale  next  morning,  and  de 
clined  her  breakfast.  She  had  not  been 
well  for  some  time,  but  she  had  not  trem 
bled  as  now  at  the  opening  and  shutting  of 
a  door.  It  was  plain  that  her  nerves  had 
been  quite  unstrung. 

Days  passed,  and  still  she  did  not  seem 
quite  like  herself.  Her  father  told  the  fam 
ily  physician  she  was  not  well,  and  asked 
what  it  was  best  to  do  with  her.  The  doc 
tor  said  he  thought  she  only  needed  time 
enough,  and  she  would  recover  her  "tone." 

"  I  have  an  idea,"  said  Mr.  Parlin  to  his 
wife  some  days  after  this.  "If  you  approve, 
I  believe  I'll  take  the  child  West  with  me, 


170  DOTTY   DIMPLE   AT   HOME. 

next  time  I  go  there  on  business.  I  took 
Prudy  once,  and  it  is  no  more  than  fair 
that  the  other  children  should  have  their 
turn." 

"We  will  see,"  said  Mrs.  Parlin;  and  so 
it  was  left.  The  subject  was  never  men 
tioned  before  Dotty ;  but  here  is  what  Pru 
dy  said  of  it  in  her  journal :  — 

"  Sept.  5th.  —  I  think  my  little  sister 
Dotty  will  go  out  West  to  see  aunt  Maria, 
&c. ;  but  anybody  mus'n't  ever  tell  her  of  it. 
She  is  very  pale,  they  poured  so  much  water 
over  her  that  night,  and  she  thought  it  was 
a  yellow  ghost. 

"  I  told  her  it  was  very,  very  wrong  to  sit 
in  Angeline's  lap  and  hear  her  talk  so.  We 
mus'irt  believe  anything  for  certain  except 
Bible  stories. 


JOHNNY'S  REVENGE.  171 

"  She  has  had  temper,  and  shook  Ada 
Farley.  But  that  was  before  she  was 
frightened  by  the  ghost,  so  she  couldn't 
get  her  breath ;  and  she  won't  do  it  again. 
Finis." 


Oliver  Optic's  Magazine, 


The  only  Original  American  Juvenile  Magazine  published  once  a  Week. 

EDITED   BY  OLIVER  OPTIC, 

Who  writes  for  no  other  juvenile  publication  —  who  contributes 
each  year 

FOTJH    SEHI^Ili    STORIES! 

The  cost  of  which  in  book  form  would  be  $5.00—  double  the  sub 
scription  price  of  the  Magazine  I 

Each  number  (published  every  Saturday)  handsomely  illustrated. 

Among  the  regular  contributors,  besides  OLIVER  OPTIC,  are 
SOPHIE  MAY,  author  of"  Little  Prudy  and  Dotty  Dimple  Stories." 
KOSA  ABBOTT,  author  of  "Jack  of  all  Trades,"  &c. 
MAY  MANNERING,  author  of  "The  Helping-Hand  Series,"  &c. 
WIBT  SIKES,  author  of  "  On  the  Prairies,"  &c. 
OLIVE  LOGAN,  author  of  "  Near  Views  of  Royalty,"  &c. 
BJEV.  ELIJAH  KELLOGG,  author  of  "  Good  Old  Times,"  &c. 

Each  number  contains  16  pages  of  Original  Stories,  Poetry, 
Articles  of  History,  Biography,  Natural  History,  Dialogues,  Re 
citations,  Facts  and  Figures,  Puzzles,  Rebuses,  &c. 

OLIVER  OPTIC'S  MAGAZINE  contains  more  reading  matter  than 
any  other  juvenile  publication,  and  is  the  Cheapest  and  the  Best 
Periodical  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States. 


,       .. 

Canvassers  and  local  agents  wanted  in  every  State  and  Town, 
and  liberal  arrangements  will  be  made  with  those  who  apply  to 
the  Publishers. 


..  ., 

Any  boy  or  girl  who  will  write  to  the  Publishers,  shall  receive 
a  specimen  copy  by  mail  free. 

LEE  $  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


OLIVER    OPTIC'S    MAGAZINE. 

)  THE    ORATOR. 

I 

In  this   department,  of   particular  interest  to 

schools,  Exercises  in  Declamation  are  selected, 
and  marked  for  delivery,  illustrated  by  engraved 
figures.  This  is  an  original  feature,  not  to  be 
found  in  any  other  Magazine,  giving  the  sub 
scriber 

26  ILLUSTRATED  EXERCISES  IN  ELOCUTION  EACH  YEAR! 


DIAJLOGTIES. 

This  usually  neglected  feature  of  Magazines 
receives  particular  attention  in  "  OUR  BOYS  AND 
GIRLS."  The  best  writers  of  Dialogues  have  been 
secured,  and  Oliver  Optic's  Magazine  will  give 

26  Original  Dialogues  Each  Year ! 


A    YEAR'S    VOLUME. 

The  volume  for  the  year  1867  contained  three 
Serial  Stories  by  OLIVER  OPTIC,  35  Poems,  39 
Speeches  for  Declamation,  26  Original  Dialogues, 
68  Stories  by  other  authors,  1212  Puzzles,  158 
Illustrated  Rebuses,  &c. 


OLIVER    OPTIC'S    MAGAZINE. 


CONTAINING 

GEOGRAPHICAL  REBUSES,  PUZZLES,  SYNCOPATIONS,  GEOGRAPH'L 

QUESTIONS,    PROVERBIAL   ANAGRAMS,    ENIGMAS, 

CHARADES  AND  NUMERICAL  PUZZLES, 

Contributed  by  the  subscribers  and  rendered  unusually  attractive 

by  original  features 
NOT  TO  BE  FOUND  IN  ANY  OTHER  MAGAZINE. 


OIPTIO'S    BOOKS. 

Each  series  in  a  neat  box.    Sold  in  sets  or  separately. 

Young  America  Abroad. 

A  Library  of  Travel  and  Adventure  in  Foreign  Lands. '  16mo. 
Illustrated  by  Stevens,  Perkins,  and  others.    Per  vol.,  $1.50. 
OUTWARD  BOUND.         SHAMROCK  AND   THISTLE. 
RED  CROSS.  DIKES  AND  DITCHES. 

Others  in  preparation. 
Starry  Flag  Series. 
Illustrated.    Per  volume,  $1.25.    Comprising: 
THE  STARRY  FLAG.     BREAKING  A  WAT. 
SEEK  AND  FIND.  Others  in  preparation. 

The  Soldier  Boy  Series. 

Three  vols.,  illust.,  in  neat  box.    Per  vol.,  $1.50.    Comprising: 
THE  SOLDIER  BOY.       THE  YOUNG  LIEUTENANT. 

FIGHTING  JOE. 
The  Sailor  Boy  Series. 

Three  vols.,  illust.,  in  neat  box.    Per  vol.,  $1.50.    Comprising: 
THE  SAIL  OR  BOY.  THE  YANKEE  MIDD  Y. 

BRAVE  OLD  SALT. 
Woodville  Stories. 

Uniform  with  Library  for  Young  People.     Six  vols.    16mo. 
Each  volume  handsomely  illustrated,  and  complete  in  itself,  or 
in  sets  in  neat  boxes.    16mo.    Per  vol.,  $1.25. 
RICH  AND  HUMBLE.  IN  SCHOOL  AND  OUT. 

WATCH  AND   WAIT.  WORK  AND    WIN. 

HOPE  AND  HAVE.  HASTE  AND   WASTE. 

Famous  "  Boat-Club"  Series. 

Library  for  Young  People.   Handsomely  illustrated.    Six  vols., 
in  neat  box.    Per  vol.,  $1.25.     Comprising: 
THE  BOAT  CL UB.  ALL  AB OA RD. 

NO  W  OR  NE  VER.  TR  Y  A  GAIN. 

PO OR  AND  PR  0  UD.  LITTLE  B  Y  LITTLE. 

Rlverdale  Story  Books. 

Six  vols.,  profusely  illustrated  from  new  designs  by  Billings. 
In  neat  box.    Cloth.    Per  vol.,  45  cts.     Comprising: 
LITTLE  MERCHANT.  PROUD  AND  LAZY. 

YOUNG   VOYAGERS.  CARELESS  KATE. 

DOLLY  AND  I.  R  OB  INS  ON  CR  US  OE,  JR. 

Flora  T^ee  Story  Books. 

Companions  to  the  above.    Profusely  illust'd  from  new  designs 
by  Billings.  In  neat  box.  Cloth.  Per  vol.,  45  cts.    Comprising: 
CHRISTMAS  GIFT.       .         THE  PICNIC  PARTY. 
UNCLE  BEN.  THE  GOLD  THIMBLE. 

BIRTHDAY  PARTY.  THE  DO-SOMETHINGS. 

The  Way  of  the  World. 
By  WILLIAM  T.  ADAMS  (Oliver  Optic).    12mo.    $2.00. 

Sold  by  all  Booksellers  and  Newsdealers,  or  sent  by  mail  post 
paid  on  receipt  of  price. 

LEE   AND   SHEPABD,  Publishers, 

149  WASHINGTON  STREET,  BOSTON. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

RENEWALS  ONLY— TEL.  NO.  642-3405 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


.70** 

ltf,1.0J1 

_.   a  <" 

fi<*    otf 

«*•#-»" 

sxMe 

ef 

fiEC'DLD    SEP: 

&  8  /u  -DAM  7  2 

Hft'D  LD    FFR  2 

173  -3PM  8  0 

Dotty 


oca  S«j 


^   atr  Home 


C599 
da 


HE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


LIBRARY 


